Here I Am Again
by BlackRoseButterflies
Summary: One year after the events at the gallery, Ib and her classmates take a field trip back to the place with forgotten memories. Warning, a few OCs.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
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"-And make sure not to touch anything or disturb the other guests!" The teacher gave directions to her students before they scampered off in different directions around the gallery. "And be back here in about two hours!"

For their class trip, the fifth grade decided to go to Guertena's art gallery that opened a little over a year before. The teacher was obsessed with art, so since this would be her last year teaching, they decided to go to a place that she and the students would like. Though some of them would probably be satisfied with simply going out for a walk, as long as they got out of class.

There was a group of three that just kind of lingered near the front at first, moving slowly. One of them had long black hair that came more than half way down her back with dark brown, almost black eyes. The tallest and only male of the group had blonde hair that curled around his ears and bright green eyes. The shortest of them who seemed to have little to no expression at most times had hair that came just past her shoulders with crimson red eyes.

The blonde, Cecil, was the only one that actually spoke up. The shortest, Ib, usually kept to herself, and the other, Layla, always spoke quietly, due to the fact that she didn't think her high pitched voice suited her (but she was gradually getting over this). So he was the one leading the group around the exhibit. They'd stop and talk about certain paintings that they liked, leave a few comments on the sculptures. Everything was great.

Until they came to a portrait, depicting a man sleeping with his back to a wall, slumped over a bit. 'Forgotten Portrait' it was titled.

Two of them thought nothing much of it. That it was just another well done painting. Layla even thought the man looked pretty attractive. But Ib, on the other hand, looked at it like it showed some mulled body.

Her two friends looked at her in worry before Cecil asked, "Hey, Ib... Are you okay?" He reached out to her, but before he could touch her, a single tear fell from her cheek. She brought her hand to her face where it was now wet, then looked at her fingers. Surprised that she had shed a tear, her eyes widened.

"Ib, why are you crying?" Layla asked, slightly alarmed," You're not hurt, are you?"

The girl shakes her head before replying, "No... I... Don't know why..."

"Well, c'mon!" Cecil exclaimed, grabbing hold of the other's arms and pulling them along, "There's plenty of other things left to be seen. No need to stay and look at one depressing one."

They continued through the gallery. Cecil really liked the 'Uh' statue [A/N: I'd explain this one, but I don't really know how]. Ib found 'The Lady in Red' (a painting of exactly what the name says) slightly terrifying, like something from one of her nightmares. Layla loved 'Embodiment of the Spirit', a giant rose statue, and 'Marvelous Night' a painting of a star-y night sky. Finally, they came to a giant mural titled 'Fabricated World'.

"It looks like a mess to me..." Layla said, folding her arms.

"I think it's kind of pretty." Cecil commented, "What do you think, Ib?"

The girl thought or a moment, studying every detail about the painting. Though her parents took her to this same museum, that was back when it opened about a year ago, she couldn't really remember all the details. So really, coming here was like seeing everything for the first time again, with a bit of familiarities.

There was something about this particular painting that seemed even more familiar and scary than the lady in red painting, but she couldn't pinpoint what about it or why she felt this way. "Well... I think it's a bit of all of Guertena's works put into one piece." The other two had to look at it closer before they could see what she was saying.

"Well, anyway..." Cecil said, pulling out his phone, "We should be heading back. It's almost time to go."

The three turned and left in the opposite direction that they came, that way they could take a quick look at the few exhibits they didn't get to before. As they left that hallway and headed for the stairs, the lights flickered a few times then went completely out, leaving them in darkness.

"Someone forget to pay the bill?" Layla grumbled under her breath.

Downstairs they expected to see everyone waiting for them with angry looks for being a little late. To their surprise, there wasn't a single person around. There was also a slight sound of footsteps heard from all around them.

"W-what's going on?!" Cecil stuttered, feeling slightly nervous.

"Maybe we're not leaving, yet. We should find the teacher." Ib piped up. She led the other two who were starting to shake behind her. For some reason, she was more determined than afraid. Like she had been in a similar situation and needed to do something.

They searched the entire first floor, only to discover that they seemed to be the only ones there. They tried the front door to leave, but it was locked. So they decided to venture upstairs again.

It was the same as the floor below. No one around but them.

This time, in front of the 'Forgotten Portrait' there was weird creepy blue writing. They got closer to see that it read 'REMEMBER IB REMEMBER'.

Ib took a step back. The other two looked at her curiously. Her eyes widened in fear. She looked up at the painting and saw that it had changed. The man was no longer looking down at the ground, but right at her! His eye was a nice bright blue color, the other being covered by his odd purple hair. He looked even more familiar to Ib, now that she got a good look at his face. The more she stared, the more this feeling of guilt grew inside her.

Suddenly, she remembered everything.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey, guess what, guys! Today is my birthday! Here, have a chapter! :D**

**Also... HEY, GUESS WHAT I FORGOT, AGAIN. The disclaimer. I shall try to remember that from now on. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ib or it's amazing characters. (Especially Garry and all his sexiness.) **

Chapter 2  
-

Ib clutched her head in pain as all the memories came back to her. All those scary mannequins chasing her, the cuts and bruises that would appear on her body when her rose lost some of its petals the time she spent with her two companions.

Her friends tried talking to her, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. All she could think was 'How could I have forgotten something someone so important to me?! Events that should be with me forever!' After a couple of seconds she managed to look at her friends and mumble a "I'm fine." but really, her mind was making her feel terrible. They seemed to believe her lie.

"Hey, look." Layla said, pointing in the direction of the other side of the room," That's new." Ib looked over her shoulder to see a vase holding three different colored roses next to the 'Misshapen Diamond' exhibit. She remembered from before what they meant. Each one represented their lives.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash, the sound of breaking glass or something. The woman in red pulled herself half way out of her painting and fell to the floor. Her eyes crazily looked around until the settled on the vase. She then dragged herself and the border of her painting over to the stand it sat on. She placed her hands on the side and began to push and shake until it finally toppled over and the vase shattered into pieces. Before Ib could do a thing, she grabbed an orange rose and started ripping off its petals.

Cecil clutched his chest and fell to the ground in pain. Not knowing what was going on, Layla went to his side, but Ib, being more experienced, lunged for the flowers, shoving away the lady in red and taking the three roses. "Run!" She exclaimed to her friends, helping the eldest stand. They quickly headed down the stairs before their chaser could get to them.

As soon as they touched down from the last step, they noticed that they weren't in the lobby. Or the art gallery for that matter. Now they found themselves looking down a long hallway with dark purple walls. There weren't many lights, so it was hard to see. Though it was brighter than in the gallery just then.

Ib took a couple steps forward, then realized that she was the only one moving. She turned back to her friends who were giving her weird looks. "Ib..." Cecil said, sounding pained from his injuries, "Are you sure you know where you're going? ... I mean... Should we really be going down this way?"

"Exactly." Layla said, "What if we get lost so that no one can find us?"

Ib sighed. It seemed they didn't quite understand what was happening, yet. Or that they were no longer in the real world any more. So she explained, "We aren't in the gallery anymore..." Her eyes traveled behind them, "Plus, we can't go back, now."

The two looked back and saw that the staircase was replaced with a hard wall. Layla reached out a hand and touched it, making sure it was real and not just an illusion. Sure enough, the wall was solid.

They turned back around and Ib gave them an 'I told you so' type of look. She motioned for them to continue on. Even though they were still confused, they did follow.

Through the door on the other side was a rather large room, same color as the last. It was pretty empty, except for a few painting on the walls, similar to ones in the exhibit, and a vase like before in the middle. Quickly, Ib took the black rose and placed it in the case, returning it to full health.

She looked back and Cecil, who seemed to be doing fine now. She went beck to their side as he stood up straight on his own. Sighing, she handed each of her friends their rose and said, "Here... In this place, these roses are like our lives... No matter what you do, don't let anything happen to them... If you do... You may... Die..." Her voice fell as she said that last word. She looked down at the ground, sheilding her face...

Then after a couple seconds, she looked up at them, smiled and said, " Well, I made it out once and I can do it again!" Even though she appeared happy, it was obvous to her friends that she was faking. Normally when she knew everything would be alright, she would just look at them and nod or something. The took worried glances at each other as she went to another door on the wall to the right. Even though they worried for their friend, at the moment, they didn't have the slightest idea what they could do.

This room was long like a hallway (and unlike the other rooms, it was a creepy grey color), only instead of just having art on the walls like normal, it only had a sinlge picture of a girl. But considering it took up almost the eintire room... The girl who looked about the same age as them with bright blue eyes and long yellow, not blonde yellow, hair. She wore a green dress with white cuffs and collar and a blue bow that matched her eyes tied around her neck. In the first picture, she looked as if she was staring down at the three.

They started to move down toward the next one when they heard a noise behind them. As they turned around, they saw that below the painting, a but of yellow text had appeared. They got closer so that they could read what it said. Which was slightly difficult, because it looked like child's writing. 'You're back. Are you here to play? Won't you play with me? Why can't we be friends?!' It said. They looked at the painting again. Now the girl was crying heavily. In one hand she held a red rose and in the other jsut a stalk of a rose that looked almost completely dead.

Ib reached out and touched the painting. Tears started streaming down her cheeks and fell to the floor. Suddenly, she looked at the other two and said, "Let's keep going." She turned and started marching to the door without a response. This only made Layla and Cecil more worried.

Before she turned the handle, Ib took a deep breath. She wasn't eintirely sure if she was ready to do this. But she had to be strong. If not for herself, then for her friends. After all, it was her fault that they were in this mess, really.

The next room was definately one of the most disturbing things they had seen. It was extremely dark, both the walls and floor were pitch black and they couldn't see the ceiling. There were weird toys and scary dolls laying everywhere. Headless maniquins and bodyless heads scattered around. Also, some sort of kid drawings everywhere, too.

Ib knew exactly where they were. '_The toy box'_ She thought, _'The same place where Mary had pushed Garry and I into. Where I had lost my rose and we searched everywhere for it. Where Garry had exchanged his rose for mine, which led to... No... Now is not the time to be thinking of this... I've got to stay strong...'_

She didn't want to stay there long, and she already knew the way out, so she took the others by the hand and led them there. They could hear different things comming to life behind them and chasing them, but they didn't dare look back. As they passed the two large dolls by the exit, they began to slow down, knowing that they were pretty much safe, surprisingly.

"Ib..." Layla said, catching her breath," Please... Explain to us whats going on..."

The girl sigh. She knew they'd eventually start asking questions, so she might as well answer them now. "I... Don't completely understand, either..." She started, "We're in another realm, basically... One where Guertena's artworks come to life... Why we're here, I have no clue. I didn't the first time, either..."

"The first time?" Cecil asked.

"About a year ago, my parents took me here. I went off on my own and somehow managed to get here." Slowly, she started to continue walking. The other two followed.

"Well, if you made it through on your own then, then with all three of us, we'll definately be able to get out now, right?!"

She stopped at the corner... "... I wasn't alone for long..." She bent down and picked up something.

"What do you mean?" Layla asked, leaning over to she waht her friend had. "What is that, what do you have?" Ib stood up and showed them. In her hand was a dried up and blue petal that was starting to wither. "Someone else was with you?" Layla stated, understanding what this meant.

Ib nodded. "Two others... Actually..." Not wanting to go further into detail, she went more down the path, picking up all the blue petals that she saw. For a second, Cecil and Layla just looked aat her with pity, but then quickly changed it and helped her pick up the petals, knowing they were probably something importan to her.

Before they really knew where they were going, Ib had picked up a stalk. One that looked like the onle the girl was holding in that picture a while back.

Carefully, Cecil started to ask," Is that-"

"Yes, it's his..." Ib interupted... She looked up the stairs at the door surounded by thorny vines. "Will you two... Wait for me out there?" She said, pointing to the third door in the room. "There's something I need to do... It'll only be a moment..." The nodded and left.

When she got the courage, Ib stood up. Taking in another deep breath, she went through the door.

Everything was like it was when she left. There was even those red cracks in the ground. She stood in the spot that they all branched out from. The pile of ashes remained, along with Knife Mary weilded. Ib flipped through the books there. 'How to make friends' One was titled... She approached the painting that once held Mary, being sure not to cute herself on the broken glass.

Then, she heard footsteps comming from behind her. "I thought I told you to wait outside." Ib said in a mean tone.

"Oh c'mon, Ib. Don't be rude."

Ib whipped around to see the new, yet familiar face. "Garry..."

**A/N: Heeheehee, cliffhanger! :D **

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated! (Like seriously, with all the stuff I got from the last chapter, I was on some sort of high, for, like, a week. X3) And... I dunno... If you have any suggestions on... Something... Then share... I guess... May just use it... Or you could use it on your own... It's your brain... **

**I think...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I was actually going to wait another week or so to upload, but I can't wait... So here, have this chapter and be happy...  
Disclaimer: I do not own Ib. **

Chapter 3

"Garry!" Ib exclaimed as she ran into the man's arms.

"Whoa, Ib, settle down." He chuckled and returned her embrace.

"I... I thought you were dead..." She sobbed into his shirt.

He placed a comforting had on her head, "But I'm not, see... I'm right here... So stop crying and smile for me, won't you?" She looked at him in the eye. "I'm all right." He reassured.

She wanted to stay like that for longer. To be completely sure that he wasn't hurt. But he soon moved away to look at the broken painting. "So... This was Mary's painting?" He asked. Ib nodded sadly. "Did you do this?" She nodded again. He turned to her again, "I'm sorry you had to go through that." She didn't reply.

He walked over to the pile of ash and picked up the palette knife that was laying there. "Maybe we could use this to defend ourselves... Y'know. In case there are others like Mary in here. It's good to be on the safe side." He put it in his pocket. "So I'll just hang onto this." Then him and Ib held hands and left the area.

Outside, Layla and Cecil were found sitting under one of the drawn trees of the sketchbook. As soon as they say Ib, the sprang up and ran to her.

"Hey!" Garry exclaimed, bringing out the knife and holding out in front of him and Ib, stopping the other two from getting too close.

Their eyes widened in fear, thinking their necks were about to get slashed. Ib reached out her hand and placed it on Garry's. He looked at he confusedly.

"These are my friends." She explained.

"Oh..." He sighed, sounding still a little confused. "Good, I thought we were already facing TWO more Marys..." The thought of her two friends receiving the same fate as Mary made Ib want to cry.

"Don't say that..." she said quietly.

"... ... ... Ib... Who is this guy...?" Cecil asked, finally able to speak.

Ib took a step forward. "Garry, these are my friends, Cecil and Layla. Guys, this is Garry. He was one of the people who helped me last time." Garry bowed slightly to them an they waved, still a little wary.

"Now that there's no confusion, let's find a way out!" Garry said, leading the group off in some direction.

Ib say that they were coming up to the little pink house when she remembered something. "Hey, Garry." She said, making them stop. She reached into her pocket. But instead of grabbing what she wanted, her finger touched one of the petals they had picked up earlier. Her eyes widened with realization, 'This can't be the real Garry. The rose still has no petals.' She remembered the fake Garry that came to her before she leaped into the painting last time. This must be the same one.

"Uhm. Never mind." She said, nervously. He shrugged and continued. While he wasn't looking, she pulled her two friends close and whispered in their ears as they walked at a slower pace, "I. Don't think that's the real Garry." They looked at her weirdly so she explained, " Last time I was here, before I left, a fake Garry appeared. I think it's the same one." She pulled out the rose stalk, "This is proof. It used to be Garry's. Since he's here, completely fine, it's obvious that he isn't the real one!"

"S-so what do we do?" Cecil asked.

"We'll have to run when we get the chance."

The three followed the fake for a while. Out of the scrapbook area and through many rooms. Funny how with 'Garry' nothing ever came out to chase them. This confirmed Ib's suspicions.

Finally they came to a room that was filled with a bunch of random sculptures that they had never seen before. The things were so close together, the room was like a small twisted maze.

'_This would be a good place to lose him_' Ib thought. The trio looked at each other and nodded. They were ready to do this. Right when the fake Garry walked past a wooden statue, they combined their strengths to tip it over and fall to the ground, creating a barricade between them and the fake.

Quickly they ran in a different direction, hoping there was more than one way out of here. When they thought they were safe for a moment, they stopped to catch their breath.

Suddenly, a mannequin came alive and chased them back the way they came. "This isn't good." Layla stated the obvious. Soon, they were face to face with 'Garry', again.

"Ib, why are you running?" He said, "There's nothing to be afraid of!"

Said girl stepped forward, "You MAY look like Garry, talk like Garry, and act like Garry, but you're NOT him!" She shouted charging at him and pushing him to the ground so that they could hop around him and escape.

They ran and ran and ran until their legs hurt and lungs felt like they were burning. They found a room that seemed mannequin and picture free. Ib locked the door and slid herself down with her back up against it. She looked around the room that they were now in. There weren't any paintings or mannequins, so this ensured their safety. Cecil plopped down on a white and red couch pushed to the wall to her left. Next to that was a small table with ne of the familiar vases. Across from her was a bunch of tall bookshelves. Some that faced her and a line of shorter ones across form them that created a bit of a path between them. Layla went between them and disappeared out of Ib's view, probably laying on the ground.

"Everyone... All right?" Cecil asked. Ib nodded and Layla put up a thumb. Good. "So..." He started to say, "Do you think there's a real Garry in here somewhere?"

"I hope..." Ib answered. She got up and placed the rose stem into the vase,watching as it slowly returned to a full bloom with all its petals. She wasn't too worried about there not being any water left now, because none of them really needed it.

She noticed that Cecil was now staring at her in awe. "How did it do that?! It was dead, but now-...!"

"The vases heal the roses." She explained vaguely. But he seemed to understand.

Once they felt like they had rested up enough, they decided to head out and look for another exit.

**A/N: I came up with another idea for and Ib fanfic. It'd take place after the ending Ib all alone. Specifically the one where Garry is in the other world after you gave him the handkercheif. Basically after sometime, he remembers Ib and goes back in to save her. There would be some other OCs, probably. Maybe just one. Not sure. (Because for some reason, I really like OCs.) Still don't know where it'd lead off to, but it's just an idea. Let me know what you think and... I dunno... Stuff... **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: D': One review? Only one? Do you guys not care?! ... Th-that's okay... I mean... It's not like it matters or anything... -sniff- TT-TT **

**You know, I was originally only going to post once o month, but... I didn't want to be THAT mean... However, now that I see how you guys are... -evil grin- **

**... Anyway, school is going to be starting, like, next week, so... I'm warning you not to expect updates too be anything like they've been... Sorry about that... And please excuse this excuse of an update. XD  
**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Ib, there would be another male character... But I don't... So there isn't... **

Chapter 4  
-

The trio had passed through many seemingly pointless rooms. Few of them actually had anything that chased them.

One area was slightly familiar to Ib. It looked a lot like the area where her and Mary were running around on their own, going back an forth, solving puzzles. Only there were slight differences. The decorations were different and some rooms placed differently and it was a purple color instead of yellow. She remembered that this was where she found Garry talking to those weird rabbit ornaments.

Purposely, she steered the group in the other direction. They checked all the rooms, not having any luck of finding something useful. Ib tried to go in the opposite direction of that room, but Cecil stopped her.

"Hey, Ib!" He called, just as she gripped the handle of the door to leave that place, "There's another door over here we haven't opened, yet! Shouldn't we check them all, just in case?" Ib sighed. He was right. For all she knew, with the way this place seemed to rearrange itself, it could lead to the way out.

She took hold of the handle and hesitantly turned it, opening the door. She was wrong. This was definitely NOT the way out.

Her heart sank a bit as she stepped in a bit, letting the others in, too. They looked around with confused looks, but Ib understood. There were once brightly colored rabbits but now, in their place, were these identical looking rag dolls. They had dark blue skin and buttons for eyes. Their hair was long blonde and wavy and they wore green dresses with a blue bow tied around their necks. On the big canvas in front of them, was a picture of Mary, sitting alone in a dark room, tears flowing down her cheeks and forming a smile pool on the floor. Below, the caption read 'Alone again'.

With tears forming in her eyes, Ib went over to one of them and picked it up. She could see the resemblance. She held the doll close to her chest, wishing it was the real thing.

All of a sudden, the door slammed closed on it's own, no one even close to it, and the lights went out. "W-what's going on?!"Layla stuttered. Ib stood form her spot and looked around in the darkness, unable to see a thing. Then the room lit up with a red glow and the doll in her hand suddenly got very hot, making her drop it on the ground as it and the others burst into flames.

Ib backed away, trying not to get burned by the growing flames. As they continued to engulf the small figures tears began to rapidly fall from her face. Even once the dolls were gone, the flames still got bigger and bigger, but Ib wouldn't move and inch. Finally, someone grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

She snapped out of her daze when she heard the sound of a door knob rattling. "W-what?! It's locked! Why is it locked?!" Cecil exclaimed. "W-where's they key?!" They looked around the room. "There's no way we can find a key in here like this!"

"It's like we're being cooked in an oven!" Layla said.

'_Maybe this is her revenge!_' Ib thought and collapsed onto her knees. '_It's my fault we're in this mess. And now Layla and Cecil... _She looked at her friends with emotionless eyes as they got down with her and took her in an embrace, shaking madly with fear. _We're all going to die here, and it's all my fault..._'

**A/N: If I really wanted to, I could totally end this fic right here. But I don't think I will... Because this would be a very unsatisfying ending... And fic... **

**I dunno, though... Let's see who cares... Readers, what do you think... ?! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I guess I shall continue... -sigh- I'm still disapointed, though... Xl **

**I didn't really get time to edit this. I had to go to bed so that I could get up and not be in a pissy mood and stuff... Because school has started and, surprisingly, I will be writing more... And the more I write, the more I update. (I like to be a few chapters ahead of what I have posted on here, just in case.) I'm SUCH a good student... *cough* XD **

**Also, just recently I noticed that does not like some punctiation things... And that some emoticons I like to use do not work because of this... Like, I can't make a heart, man! D: /3 I am sad, now... **

**And, in the begining of this story, I noticed I messed up. Not that it really matters, but... 1- I said that Cecil's rose was orange but it's supposed to be black. Don't ask me how I got them confused. 2- I don't think I mention Layla's at all. I meant to, but. I dunno. It's supposed to be lavender. **

**Anyway, I guess this chapter could be a little confusing... I dunno... It felt somewhat right to me, so I just went with it... **

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and nothing else... **

Chapter 5

They were dying. The pain of being burned alive was unbearable. And when they thought it all was about to end, it suddenly stopped and they were engulfed in coldness and were pulled into a deep sleep.

"We should be safe in here" A woman who looked just a little younger than the age of twenty said as she closed the door to the large room she had just entered. Odd how this one didn't have a lock like the rest. Oh well. She could just barricade it in a second.

She looked over at the unconsious boy she had found a little while ago. Out of breath from running and carrying him, she crawled over next to where she had layed him in the middle of the room. She checked his pulse. It was there, but barely. Hair clung to his face from sweat. Also, he didn't seem to have a rose of his own.

Hers was a pretty pink color and was stuck behind her ear, holding back a piece of her brown curls. So far she'd only been scratched a few times, but when she did, a few petals fell off the stem. Obviously, her and the rose's life were somehow connected. It didn't make sense to her. Then again, almost anything that has happened didn't make much sense.

She set the man's head on her lap, using it as a pillow. Using her handkercheif she always kept with her, she dabbed some of the sweat on his face.

Being the girl she was, she decided to review what had happened before to get her in this mess. Not knowing things really seemed to bother her.

She went to the art museum to check out the new exhibit they had there for some research for her next painting. Luckily, her father allowed her to go all by herself, aside from the chaufer. At first everything was normal, other than the flickering lights, but that was all right. While she was looking at a picture of someone coughing, which seemed silly to her. Why would someone take their time just to paint a man coughing. But she thought nothing of it and moved on.

Just as she was about to go upstairs, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Was that a black cat? She had to know for sure. She followed it in the direction it went, ignoring everything else. Sure she passed many things that caught her eye, but her curiosity was more important to her. After all, she could justcome back to them later.

She turned the corner and passed a giant painting that looked quite interesting. She'd have to look at that later, too. Going past it, she spotted the cat sitting and staring at a blank painting. Slowly approaching it, trying not to scare it away.

The lights suddnely flickered again, then completely went out. She stopped a few feet away. The cat turned and looked at her, then jumped _into_ the _painting_.

'_What?!_' She thought, getting a closer look at the painting. It was a close up of a cat. Just like the one she saw before. She touched the painting, something she knew she wasn't supposed to do. Feeling the brush stokes [pretend there isn't some sort of glass protecting the painting, okay?], she only became more confused.

Suddenly, a claw like black hand came out and grabbed her arm. Its sharp nails dug into her skin as it dragged her into the painting.

She was covered in darkness for a few seconds, then showered in a blinding light. Looking around at her surroundings, she knew she wasn't in the gallery anymore.

Actually, here was like no other place she had seen before. Such darkly colored walls, creepily decorated corridors. It seemed almost unnatural to her. Most of the palces she's been in always looked so bright and cheery. But she was brave and was always a lot smarter than other people, so she should be abe to find her way back easily.

Or so she thought. Turns out, these halls were a lot harder to figure out than theyseemed. Plus, she had no comprehention how she even got there in the first place. '_ Maybe she just fell sleep in the car and was still dreaming._' She thought, '_But we must be there by now. Why wouldn't the driver of woken me up instead of letting me sleep my time away?! The museum could be closed by now!_'

She blindly went through countless rooms, stopping to admire the work on multiple pieces of art she passed along the way. She also found a nice pink rose, which she kept with her by tucking it behind her ear. It wasn't until she came to a painting titled 'Lady in Yellow' that she realized some of them weren't even in the gallery she saw before. Right as she sighed and started walking away.

Upon hearing a loud crashing noise coming from behind her, she turned around to see the Lady in Yellow, halfway out of her painting and crawling toward her at an impressive rate. Before she knew it, the lady grabbed her by the ankles, making her fall to the ground. She clawed up her body, reaching for the rose in her hair. But for some reason, the girl knew she couldn't let the lady get a hold of her flower.

She shoved the lady off to the side and quickly got up to run away, a few petals falling off the rose as the cuts on her body started to bleed. But they were small enough to barely notice.

After she ran away from other mysterious creatures and found vases in which she placed her rose and gained back all it's petals, she came across a man who looked just a bit older than she, sitting aga-

The girl was brought out of her memories by the sound of a loud CLANK. She jumped, whiping her head to look at the door where the sound came from. Carefully getting up, being sure not to be too rough with the hurt man, she went to check and see what had happened.

And, of course... They were locked in...

**A/N: Oh, look. Another OC. Well, I hope you like them, because there are two more coming up soon. **

**The next chapter will still be about this girl. Please, tell me what you think of her! So far I really like her, an I'd like to know what you guys think! Actually, I'd like to know your guys' opinion on how this story is doing, actually. I feel like it's just going downhill from the second chapter on. Like, those two I am really happy about, but the rest are just meh... **

**So any and all opinions are welcomed! Some sort of constructive critisism would be really nice. **

**So... Review, please? X3 **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Well, here's chapter six... Sorry about the long wait... I don't really know why I didn't update this when I had planned to, but hey... It's here now... **

**I didn't really get much feed back on what you guys thought. I kind of figure if you've read this far, you like what you're reading. Either that or you just like to read and make fun of it, which can be understandable. XD **

**Anyway, here's the story. **

Chapter 6

"This isn't good." The girl muttered to herself, jiggling the door handle a few times, hoping it was just stuck... Nope... Definitely locked.

She sighed and turned around again. Now that she actually looked at the room, it appeared that they were trapped, seeing as there was no other way out. Well, unless there was some sort of hidden hole in a wall or something, but who would do that?!

Wait. The whole place was weird. So maybe there would be a hole in a wall somewhere. She had to try.

She searched through the bookshelf, flipping through all the books that were there and didn't find a thing. She looked all around them, too. Behind the tallest one, which was also the longest, there seemed to be a bit of darkness poking through. She peeked into the corner and saw there was light on the other side. A tunnel! With all her might she pushed and shoved against the side of the bookcase, but had no luck moving it even an inch. Back at home, all the physical work was done for her, so she never had to have any sort of strenght like that. Plus, she was home-schooled, so she didn't have to take any sort of gym class, either.

Sighing, she walked back over to the man she was begining to call her patient of sorts, since she's been taking care of him for so long. To her surprise, his face looked less pained. He was still sweating like it was 110 degrees. Other than that, he seemed to be recovering.

She took her handkechief out and wiped up the sweat, again. She also moved the hair out of his face, figuring that doing so would make it less hot for him, seeing as on hot days she puts her hair up in a pony tail to keep it off her neck and out of her face. She carefully lifted up his head and placed in on her lap, again.

Having nothing else to do, she stared at the man's face. Now that she had a chance to really look at him, he was quite attractive. Hopefully he'd be well enough to wake up soon. She really wanted to officially meet him and get to know him. She also hoped that when that happened, IF that happened, that the two of them would be able to get along.

Her eyes traveled down the rest of his body. To her, he looked to be about twenty years old. That would make him three years older than herself. She couldn't believe how much she found this man attractive. And the coat he wore. It was nothing like any other coat she's seen. Though it seemed odd that someone would wear something that looked so torn up like it, she figured it was a new style that she wasn't aware about. Plus, it really seemed to fit how he and the rest of his outfit looked. Though a different colored pants would have been better. She was never one for the color brown. Especially not for clothes.

She really liked the way his green tank top showed off his collar bones. Not that she was attracted to them or anything. She'd just never really gotten a good look at them before. Well, her own, yes, but it's different when you can see it on someone else. Slowly, she reached out a hand and felt along the bone line, being sure not to press too hard.

His DID feel a lot different than hers. With the other hand she even felt along her bone at the same time to compare. Now her curiosity was starting to get to her, again, and she bagan to wonder what other parts were different than hers. One thing that was obvious to her was their chests. Yes, she knew that men and women had different private parts, but she never was told _WHY_. Many times she asked her parents and servants, but they never gave her a real answer. Normally just a 'that way they're different'. Which COULD be an actualy answer, but it just seemed like there was more to it than that.

She also wondered why it was that guys weren't allowed to wear skirts and dresses. Sure, they had different parts, but why should that matter? Men should be able to wear what they want, too! It's not like the thing would get in the way or hang too low, would it?

Changing her attention back to what she was doing, she looked down at his legs. They looked so much bigger than her own. Why do women have smaller legs than men? Then her eyes went to his hands. carefully, she picked one up and brought it closer so she could see better. It was kind of cold compared to her own, but that was probably because of his lowered pulse, which also seemed to be a little faster than before.

Putting their palms together, she noticed how dainty her hand looked next to his. People normally said that she had long slender fingers, but compared to his, they kind of looked half like little nubs.

Then within seconds, she noticed his skin rapidly returning to a more normal looking color. His pulse increased. Not having enough time to react, her grip tightened a bit. And suddenly, his eyes opened.

**A/N: So yeah. If you can't tell, the girl does not know a things that people in the real world know, if you know what I mean. Almost completely innocent when it comes to those certain things. (Seriously, tell me what you think of her, though!) **

**Also, while typing this chapter, I was SUPPOSED to be watching Cry's livestream but my intenet was just like 'LOL, FUCK YOU'. THAT did NOT make me happy. And since it was (and still is, actually) down, I had to listen to music I already have on my computer (because all my CDs are at my mom's), so I listened to the Ib soundtrack. :3 **

**Anyway, please read and review! All opinions are welcome and are very much apprecieated. **

**~MORE TO COME~ X'3 **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: hijska It's been a long while. I haven'y been able to write like normal in a long time, either. **

**I'm really sorry about not uploading ANYTHING in like a month. I don't even really have a legitimate excuse for it, either. I'm sorry! Q-Q But here, have a chapter?  
-**

**Chapter 7**

'Ugh, where am I?' Ib thought as she slowly opened her eyes. 'Aren't I supposed to be dead? I thought we were burned.' She looked around and saw her two friends laying on the ground next to her. All three of them appeared to be completely unharmed. 'Guess not. An illusion, maybe?' She looked at the room they were in. Whatever had happened, it took them to a completely new place.

Now, they were in a white room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were almost completely white, except for the connecting lines of black that made the whole place look like it was made out of puzzle pieces. No furniture. Completely bare of any sort of decorations. The three of them were the only sources of actual color.

Worriedly, she checked her friends' heartbeats. Then sighed of relief, knowing that they were both there and completely normal. She silently soot up and turned around. Behind her on the far wall was a door, which looked different than all the other doors she had seen here.

Instead of being long and tall and matching the color of the rest of the room, this door was shorter, more square shaped and looked like wood. She tested the handle to see if it was blocked or not. Surprisingly, it wasn't.

She carefully went back to her spot and began to shake the other two until they finally woke.

"W-what happened? Were are we?" Layla asked. "How are we not dead?" Ib just shrugged her shoulders in response. "I'd ask if there was anything useful in here, but all I see is a door." She said, looking around the room, "Is it unlocked?" Ib nodded.

"Then let's go!" Cecil said, sounding a little too cheerful as he practically skipped to the door. Maybe he was just happy to be alive.

Upon exiting the room, Ib noticed the slight distance between where the door ended and where the floor actually was on the outside. Looking back, she realized that they had actually come out of a painting! It was the one that Garry had explained what it was to her last time she was here. The 'milk puzzle' painting. Though, they weren't in a familiar area.

Now they were in an all white room. Here also seemed pretty empty, aside from the puzzle painting and a door on the wall furthest from them and one to the right of them. They decided that they should try the farther one first. Ib tested the handle. Of course it was locked. They'd probably have to solve another puzzle to get the key, too.

Going to the next door, which was unlocked. On the other side, more white. How odd. They searched around, finding nothing close to a key or a puzzle. Actually, this whole area was so different than the rest. Every room they went into was white and almost completely empty. None of them had anything that could harm them, either.

Finally, they entered a room that had a table with a white key sitting on it. Below, there was a sigh that read 'key to happiness'. Assuming it went to the door they found earlier, being that it was the only locked one they found so far, Ib put it in her pocket and they started heading back in the direction they came. When suddenly, they heard a noise coming from the left. they turned their heads to see a door that wasn't there before being opened and a boy walking through.

He had shoulder length black hair that covered his right eye and green eye. His black shirt showed off a bit of his chest and jeans were looked a bit too tight. His eyes lit up at the sight of them. "Hey, Ella. It seems we're not the only ones here." He exclaimed, pointing at them. He stepped forward, letting in a girl who looked a bit younger than he in.

She had blonde, almost white, hair that came past her butt and flipped up a bit on the end. Her eyes were a weird pink color. Her pink skirt was about knee length and poofed out a bit away from her. She had a white t-shirt with some weird looking cat on it. Coming out of the light pink belt in her skirt was a white rose.

She smiled at the three and waved happily. "Yay! Now there are MORE people here!" The boy laughed and folded his arms. She looked at him sadly. "What's wrong, Roy? Don't you want more people to be with?"

He looked at the three, almost glaring, "Yes, but not some children." She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. This made Ib wonder how old she actually was. Because even though she looked a few years older than herself, she didn't seem to act like it.

The girl hoped over to the three and stuck out her hand happily. "Hi, my name is Ella!" She smiled, "I'm 13 years old! And this is my older brother, Roy. He's 15. Who are you?"

"Cecil." Ib's friend introduced himself. "And this is Ib and Layla. We're all classmates." He smiled.

"Yay! Do you know how to get out of here?" They shook their heads no. Ella looked sad, again. "Oh..."

"Ella." Roy started in an annoyed voice, "Trust me, we'd be much better on our own. I'm sure these kids will just get in our way." He wouldn't even look at them.

"Hey! You're just kids, too!" Layla shouted, starting to get a little irritated with him already.

"Which is exactly why we don't need more. I don't need any more uneducated idiots with me than I already have. Now why don't you run along and get yourselves burned or something." With every word he said, Layla got more annoyed. "Oh, by the way, nice voice, squeaky." When he said that, her mood went from angry to depressed. She turned around, facing away from everyone and placed her hand below her neck.

Normally, Cecil would have stood up for his friend, but he wasn't sure what this boy could and/or would do to him if he did.

"Roy, quit being such a jerk!" Ella exclaimed, "Besides, don't you know there's strength in numbers?" He sighed. She took that as a 'whatever'.

After a bit more persuading from younger sister, the party went from three to five and Ella and Roy were tagging along.

**A/N: Yep... Those are the other OCs... But that's all there'll be... And if you wonder why Roy made that comment about Layla's voice and why she reacted that way, refer back to the first chapter. **

**I'm sorry, again for not updating in such a long time. (Though I know it's not the longest I've waited, but still.) **

**The next chapter is back to the other girl. **

**Reviews are so appreciated, I can't even express in words how happy they make me. **

**~MORE TO COME~ X'3 **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So... I don't really know how you felt on the last one, but... Well, I assume if you're still here then you don't hate it at least. **

**Hey, I didn't take as long this time! :D Anyway, here's the next chapter.  
-**

Chapter 8

'_Well, this is awkward._' The girl thought as she stared into the boy's eyes as he stared back at her. His face slowly went from tired to confusion to fear. He shot up into a sitting position and scooted himself away from her.

He moved up against the wall, then looked back at her. "W-what do you want from me?! A-am I d-dead?!" He stuttered.

She gave him a confused look. "No, you're not dead. A-and I don't want anything from you." She smiled reasuringly, not sure what else to do.

He seemed to relax a bit. "Oh. Well. If I'm not dead, then... Where am I?"

"This room." She replied matter-of-factly, "We seem to be locked in."

He seemed to have realized that she meant him no harm as he now turned completely to her and voice relaxed, too. "We can't get out? How did that happen?" She scrathed behind her head in embarassment. It was kinda silly how she let it happen.

"But anyway, are you feeling better? You looked deathly ill just twenty minutes ago. Are you sure you're all right?" She asked, a bit worried.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you." He said, fixing his clothes a bit and moving to a more comfy position. "I assume you watered my rose, right?"

'_Oh! I didn't even think to look if he had one! How careless of me!_' She thought. "Uhmmm... Actually... I never found one other than my own... I'm sorry..."

His face turned to shock. "W-w-what? Then how am I-...?" He closed his eyes. "Someone else must have it and brought it back to health for me, then. Well, at least she didn't completely destroy it." he sighed, relieved. Then looked at the girl before him. He stared at her for a second, eyes examining every bit of her. Though she didn't mind. Everyone did that.

Suddenly his face turned a slight shade of pink. He tried to ask, "So, uhm... Wha-... What was my head laying on earlier...?" His eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but at her.

"Oh?" She replied," My lap. I figured it would be more comfortable than anything else here, so. And I read somewhere that people sleep better when they rest their head on someone's lap, so I thought it'd help. That's all."

He was silent for a second. "O-Oh... I see..." HIs eyes settled on her once again. "B-By the way, I'm Garry."

She smiled and bowed her head slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Garry. My name is Claire. I hope we can get along."

"Yes, I'm sure we will." He smiled back. After a couple seconds, he said, "So, if you don't mind me asking, what were you doing before?"

"W-what do you mean?" She replied awkwardly, taking a guess on what he was asking.

"I mean when you were holding my hand when I woke up. What were you doing?"

"Oh, that... Well... I've allways wondered what the difference between a man's and a woman's body, so... And since I've never gotten a close enough look at one's body, other than my own, I figured now would be a good time to see. Uhmm... I'm sorry..."

Not sure what to say or exactly what she did,he looked away again nervously. "So... Did you... Find anything new...?"

"Oh, yes, I did! Some of it should have been obvious, but this made me really notice." She reached and grabbed her chest. "I have these and men don't. Girls have smaller legs than boys do. And our hands are different, too!" She pointed at each part when she mentioned it.

"That all?" She nodded. This made Garry sigh. He was afraid something else happened. "How old are you? I'm twenty myself. I see you're in a school uniform. Where's it from, I don't recognize it?"

"Seventeen." She replied," It's not for a school, actually. Father just had someone make it for me so that I would feel a little more normal when I'm being taught. I really like how it looks, so when I go out around this time I wear it so that it looks like I just got out of class. Isn't it cute?"

"Yes, quite. That blue really suits your pretty looks." [A/N: By the way, it's a sailor suit, basically like Ib's only blue. While I'm at it, Ib and her friends are the same (Cecil having red shorts instead) only bigger or course.]

She blushed. "Th-thank you." She wasn't used to being flattered like so.

They continued talking small talk, getting to know each other a little more. A few awkward moments, but they were cleared up after a while. Everything was going great. And then they heard the noises.

**A/N: Sorry this one is kind of short! I'll try to make the next one longer. **

**I don't know why but I have a lot of fun writing these two. Hopefully I'm getting Garry at least somewhat right. **

**Anyway, please please please review! I'll love you forever. :3 **

**~MORE TO COME~ X'3 **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9  
-**

Ib wanted to go back the way they came, but the two new members of the group protested, saying that it'd be smarter to go the other third way, instead of checking that left off room. It seemed weird to Ib that they wouldn't want to check all the area, but she didn't go against their decision. They were older than her, right? So they should be smarter. Right?

Wrong. These two were leading them in circles. It was obvious to everyone else that the way they were going always just went back to where they were, like it was some sort of maze. Though the pictures they passed always changed, there was always one in the same spot as the last, just different. The layout of the rooms was the same, too, just shifted around, like they were going through teleporting doors.

"What are we doing..." Cecil said under his breath, trying not to let anyone else hear. Too bad he's not exactly known for being quiet.

"What was that?!" Roy said, turning around. "Are you questioning me?!"

"N-no...!" Cecil stuttered, feeling slightly afraid by the terrifying look Roy was giving him. "Not at all! I was just talking to myself."

"Talk to yourself in your head. It's bad enough I have you with me." He ordered, turning around and continuing the loop. Cecil looked at Ella, expecting her to say something, but she just smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

Finally Ib saw a door that looked different than all the rest. Instead of it being all white, the frame around it was black. She tugged on Ella's sleeve, not daring to touch Roy. Ella stopped and nodded, then told her brother.

Roy lead the group through, not letting anyone else tell him where to go. This new room was certainly different to the previous ones. It was I dark blue color, almost black. Instead of being square like, it was more in the shape of a triangle. The other end being the top with a door at the tip. Somewhere in the middle on the wall to the right stood a red mannequin. Across from it, a lady in red. From where the mannequin stood to the lady in red, a thick blue wavy line crossed the room. There was a sound of rushing water.

Also, behind the mannequin, there seemed to be a hole in the wall which held more of its kind.

"I don't trust this room..." Cecil said wearily. "I think we should go back..."

"Oh, don't be a baby." Roy said, putting a hand on the boy's back. "It'll be fine. Look." In one fast movement he pushed Cecil across the room hard enough to make him stumble, but weak enough for him not to fall. His two friends were quick to join him at his side. "Hmph. Told you." Once he regained his balance, Cecil shot the older boy a glare, but said nothing.

With his hands in his pockets, Roy strutted across the room, passing the three and over to the picture of the lady in red. Sister close behind. They seemed very into looking at that painting. "Hey, kid." Roy said, motioning to Cecil, "Come over here." Obeying, Cecil joined him on the other side. "Look at this painting. Isn't she pretty? Tell me she's beautiful."

"U-uhm..." He was unsure what to say. He really did not like standing so close to a picture that could easily come out and attack him like many others that did in the past. "Y-yeah. She's very-... Pretty..."

"Oh, come on. You need to be more convincing than that. Is that how you tell your girlfriend she's Pretty? Oh, wait... You probably don't have one." He chuckled at his own assumption.

Ella joined the other girls in looking at that painting. It showed two people walking away from each other. The one on the right was a girl walking into a fire which was already consuming others. The one on the left was a boy walking towards a guillotine. There was no name for the painting. Ib looked up at Ella and saw that it was obvious this painting kind of scared her with the look she had on her face.

"Are you okay?" Ib asked her.

The girl nodded. "Yeah... I'm... Fine..."

Suddenly they heard Cecil shout from behind them. "H-hey! What?" They turned around to see Roy pulling Cecil back as mannequins marched across the room and stopped infront of the lady in red creating a wall between the two sides. The group had been split.

"Roy, are you all right?!" Ella called worriedly to her brother.

"Yeah, I'm fine, sis." He tried pushing the mannequins so that they could get through, but they wouldn't move an inch. "But I don't think we'll be able to get across. I think they somehow bolted themselves to the ground in seconds."

"What're we gonna do?" Layla asked, walking up to them and looking across at her friend.

"Not much we can do. Looks like we'll have to split up." Roy said. To Ib, his voice sounded a little too enthusiastic.

"We shouldn't..." She said in protest.

Roy smiled, almost evilly. "Trust me, it'll be fine." He turned to Cecil and firmly griped the boy's shoulders. making him wince in pain, "Right, boy? Tell them everything's alright."

Cecil obeyed, "D-don't worry, g-guys. I'm sure we'll meet back up soon." Even though he said this, in his voice you could tell that he did not want to split up and be left alone with the older boy. Ib and Layla watched with worried looks as their male companion was dragged away by the other.

**A/N: I'm not really sure whether I like Roy or not… He's kind of a bitch… If I knew him in real life, I think I would want to punch him. **

**Anyway, thank you for reading and please, review! Every one of them makes me smile and brightens my day. **


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
-

Cecil walked fearfully next to the older boy with him. Before when they were with the girls, it wasn't as bad being with him, but now that it was just the two of them, he felt very insecure. If only he was stronger, he could have pushed those mannequins himself. Or at least help.

Being the oldest male also made Roy the strongest. This fact made Cecil even more scared. Given Roy's personality (or what he's seen of it), if he did one little thing that Roy did not like, the boy could easily snap and hurt him.

The two were walking down an extremely dark hallway. They could barely see two feet in front of them.

"Well, now I'm back to one annoying child..." Roy thought out loud. "Too bad I had to be stuck with this one..." He sighed. "Either of the other two would have been so much nicer to-" He stopped himself in mid-sentence. Then looked down at the boy walking next to him and smiled. "Your name is Cecil, right?" Cecil nodded slowly. "Even your name is girly." He said under his breath.

Cecil looked down at the ground. How much longer is he going to have to take this discouragement? He's never felt so badly about himself before in his whole life. And he's only been with Roy for a little while.

Once they got to the end of the hall, they saw that it was a dead end. "How does that work...?" Roy said. They turned around to head back the other way, but it had changed. Instead of being a hallway, it turned to the right and a little light was coming from that direction. "Well, let's go." Roy said, pulling Cecil along with him.

Around the corner wasn't too different from before, aside from the light that was coming from the door on the other end. It was grey, like the rest of the room.

"Ladies first." Roy said, opening the door and letting Cecil go through first.

Cecil's eyes widened with fear. This new room absolutely terrified him. It was filled with a bunch if... Children's toys... Yet they were so unsettling... One half of the room was painted in a light pink color, and the other a dark blue." What's with this room? It's weird." He asked mostly himself. And then suddenly he felt the presence of some sort of feeling coming from the man next to him. It was a mixture or anger and sadness.

He slowly looked up at Roy, slightly afraid that he had upset him. The look on the older's face said that he had. Cecil was about to apologize when he turned to look down on him, making the boy shut his mouth. And then he smiled, confusing the boy with his sudden change in expression. Especially since it was him.

"You're right." Roy said. "This place is weird. Pointless, I'd say, considering where we are... We should keep going. You want to meet up with your friends, right?" He walked over and tried the other door. "Damn. Locked. Don't worry, shorty. I'll look for the key myself. You just stand there, looking beautiful, and don't touch anything. Okay?"

"B-but won't we find it faster if we both look for it?" Cecil asked, walking over to and starting to search through a bookshelf on the pink side of the room. "Hmm? What's this?" He pulled out a book that said "Me and my family." on it. It looked like a picture book or something.

"I SAID-" Roy exclaimed, losing his cool from just a minute ago, "-DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!" He grabbed the book out of the boy's hand and slammed him against the wall. "Didn't you hear me?!" He threatened.

Cecil slowly nodded and barely managed to choke out a small "I-I'm sorry!"

Roy continued to glare into the boy's eyes. Though his face showed that he was mad, the feeling inside his eye had nothing with that. In that green orb was a mixture of sadness and fear and not anger. He was so afraid.

Even though Cecil did have no idea why Roy looked the way he did or why he felt the need to comfort him. Something in him just clicked and he wrapped his arms around the older boy and pulled him close, whispering in his ear a sincere "I'm sorry. It'll be okay". The book was dropped to the ground. He felt Roy's hands briefly reach up and touch his back, almost returning the hug. Then they tightly griped his shoulders and pulled him away.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing?!" Roy stuttered, his face a bit pink. Now his eye held confusion. Cecil smiled, but shrugged in response. Now that he knew Roy's eyes were like an open book, he was slightly less afraid of him. Roy averted his eyes and dropped his hands down. "Whatever." He said, going back to what he was doing, "Just stop looking, okay?" Cecil nodded, even though it wouldn't be seen, anyway. He picked up the fallen book, tempted to go through it, considering it was almost obvious that Roy was hiding something. But he decided against doing so, as to not anger the older boy any more than before.

"Here it is!" Roy exclaimed, pulling a key from a stuffer bear's hands. He went over to the door, unlocked it, and stepped through the now open door way. He turned back and called to the other, "You coming, sh-" He stopped and eyed the book in Cecil's hands. His eyes narrowed. "What do you think you're doing...?"

Quickly Cecil put the book back, and stuttered, "I-I was just putting it back in its place! That's all!" He then ran to Roy's side, who gave him a skeptical look. And again, his eyes held a bit of fear.

"L-let's just go." Roy put an arm around Cecil's shoulder, leading him away and closed the door behind them.

**-A/N: I feel so bad for Cecil! ;-; Because he's such a happy child and then ROY comes along and messes with him and-... T-T **

**R&R, please! XD **

**Love you all. **


	11. Chapter 11

******  
Chapter 11  
-**

Layla and Ib watched quietly as their friend was practically dragged away by the older male. They had seen before they way he had acted towards poor Cecil and it was obvious that the boy did not like being treated that way. This was probably true when he started acting so differently. Being quiet was NOT like him at all.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Layla whispered to Ib.

"I hope so." She replied.

They both followed the other girl, who was currently skipping and humming happily to herself as if she were in a field of flowers and not some sort of demonic other world. It kind of frightened the other two, but they accepted as part of her personality and moved on.

They went back the way Ib and them had come from before. After all, they did have that one key, now; they could open those doors that supposedly lead to happiness! However, as they got closer and closer to that destination, Ella's face got more and more fearful and she stopped skipping and humming.

"Uhm... Guys?" She inquired, "Where are we going, exactly?"

Ib pulled out the key they'd need and said, "To unlock a door."

Ella flinched. "O-okay. I-if you s-say so." Now she was the one who was slowly following.

Until it stood before them. Those huge white double doors from before. Ib took the key out, again and slowly reached for the key hole.

"W-wait!" Ella interrupted the process. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ib looked at her questioningly. "I-I have a really bad feeling about this. I think we should just turn around and leave this door alone! And never even think about it ever ever again! C'mon, guys, let's leave!" She took hold of Layla's arm and tried walking away.

"Excuse me!" Layla exclaimed, taking her arm back. "Did you see another way to go other than here?" Ella thought for a second, then shook her head 'no'. "And neither did I." She motioned for Ib to continue to unlock the door.

In out the key in the lock and turned it slowly. She could hear Ella take in a deep breath behind her. She took hold of the door knob and braced herself, closing her eyes, turning it, and carefully pulling the door pen. Everything was silent, aside from the creaking of the door hinges.

She stood there for a couple of second with her eyes shut. Then when nothing happened she opened them to scan the room. It seemed pretty much like the room where they revived the blue rose only way more empty. And then she saw them.

Huddled in the corner of the room were two human figures. The three moved in a bit closer.

-I-is that... Garry? Is that really Garry?!- Ib thought. -But it could be the fake...-

Suddenly one of the figures moved. The one with brown curly hair slowly turned and looked up at them. Her eyes widened, but then she smiled brightly and said, "Oh, hello! We thought you were a monster." She had a bit of an English accent.

Then the other looked up, his face still fearful. But it quickly changed to surprised and then happiness when his eyes landed onto Ib. "Ib!" He shot up and practically ran over towards her with open arms. But she stepped away when he got too close.

He looked sad. Hurt, even. He put his arms down and said," What's wrong, Ib? Don't you recognize me?"

"Is it... Really you this time?"

"This time? What do you mean? Of course it's really me!"

"I-if it helps." The girl stepped forward next to him," I found him severely injured in a long dark hallway and brought him here with me."

Now Ib smiled. She felt as if she could trust this girl, therefore confirming that this Garry was in fact the real one. She ran forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. She sobbed into his shirt. "I-I thought you were dead! A-and then there was t-the fake you who ch-chased us! A-and-! Garry!"

He smiled down at her and patted her back. "It's okay, Ib. It's okay." He bent down to her level and returned her hug. "See. I'm here, now. So please don't cry."

Then she remembered something. She took out the blue rose and handed it to him.

"Ib, you...! So it was you who saved me with this! Thank you." He took it from her and put it away in his pocket. She then remembered about the other thing that she almost gave to that fake Garry and took that out of her pocket as well and handed it out to him, a bit of blush appearing on her cheeks. "Oh? What's this?" He took the shining silver object out of her hands. "Huh? My lighter? Ib, how did you get this? And why do you have it?"

The girl hung her head sadly. She decided that instead of telling him what she did with it, she'd say, "I've kept it with me every day since. It's been almost a year, now."

Garry looked surprised. "A-a year?! How's that possible?!" Ib shrugged. "But there's no way that long could have passed."

"Time is slowed down in this world." Ib explained. "My parents looked for hours." Garry nodded, saying he understood.

"If you left, why are you back here, now?" He asked, "And can I ask who are these people with you?"

"We were dragged in. This is my school friend, Layla, and we met Ella here."

He turned to them, smiled, and bowed, "I'm Garry. Too bad our meeting couldn't have been under better circumstances." He stood back up straight. "Oh!" he turned to the young woman standing next to him. "This is Claire. If it wasn't for her, I have no idea what would have happened..."

She did a slight courtesy and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Is there a way out of here?" Ella interrupted their polite introductions.

The two glanced each at each other. Then Claire remembered something. "Oh yeah! There's that hole behind the bookcase!" She went over and showed them where it was. "I tried to move it before, but I'm not strong enough."

"Well, maybe we could all move it together!" Garry exclaimed, already starting to push The rest nodded and joined in. "Ugh. It's no use." He said, "With all the books in it, it's too heavy."

"So what do we do now?" Claire asked, seeing if anyone else knew what to do like she did. They all thought for a moment. She sighed, "Let's take all the books out. Someone should keep watch while the rest of us take them out. That way no monsters can get in without us knowing." She explained.

"That's a good idea!" Garry exclaimed, "Ib, will you please watch the door for us?' The girl nodded and went over to watch down the hallway. "Okay, let's get started." Garry said as he began pulling books off of the top shelf, being the tallest person there. The others joined in ti help.

"Hey, Claire." Garry started to ask as he set a few more books on the ground. "Do you know where you're from originally? I can't help but notice you have a bit of an accent."

"England." She replied with a smile. "I was born there. Me and my parents moved here when I was seven."

"Do you miss your old home?"

"No, not really. Sure, it was nice there, but -"

"I think we're good, now..." Ella rudely interrupted their small chat.

"O-oh." Garry said. (If this was an anime, he would have a sweat drop.) "Well, in that case, let's move this thing!" With the help of the other three, they managed to move the bookcase out of the way and against the wall. "There we go." Garry said, patting his hands together as if trying to get off anything dirty. "Is there anything coming, Ib?"

The girl shook her head 'no'. Garry smiled. "Well, then, shall we be off?" He said.

"Come one, let's just go." Ella replied.

Having to crouch down, Garry lead the group through the small hole.

**A/N: Yaaaay! New chapter already! :D  
If I am thinking correctly, I changed something a little bit involving the passage of time. I hope that is okay. ._.  
Anyway, the next chapter should be pretty long. Like, twice as long as normal, thanks to a certain part.  
Please read and review! Literally every one of them makes me smile. **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Okay, this chapter is QUITE long. Like, almost twice as big as the other chapters, really. I Man, I hope I didn't make it too boring! I mean, I don't think I made it too terrible at least.  
Also, in this chapter I used some relatively random names of other characters. (You'll know what I mean.) I DO NOT OWN THEM. I felt I should say that.  
Anyway, continue on.  
****  
Chapter 12  
-**

"Are you sure... That you know where we're going?" Cecil asked as he and Roy walked down a dark hallway. This was the fourth time they had been in this room.

His question earned a deathly glare from the older boy who was leading them. "Don't question me, boy." Roy growled. Cecil shut his mouth with a bit of a groan escaping from his throat. Roy heard it and snapped at him. "Oh, do you want to lead us?! How about I let you take on anything that may come at us? Is that what you want?"

With an unchanging face Cecil turned around and started heading in the other direction. Slightly confused by this action, Roy followed him. "What the hell? Hey!" He slammed his fist in front of Cecil on the wall, blocking Cecil's path. He got close, pushing the boy against the wall. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" He asked through his teeth.

"I-I was just-..." Cecil began to stutter. Roy enjoyed the slight look of fear in the boy's eyes and smiled, scaring the boy just a bit more. He backed up to the wall as much as he could, but the older only leaned in more. "I was just... Leading us thi-this way. Like you su-sugested. Because we've already. Gone that way."

Roy's eye twitched slightly. Then he removed his hand from the wall and backed up just a hair. "A suggestion that you shouldn't take." He said, turning back to the direction that they were already going. Cecil did not move. This annoyed Roy even more. "Kid, you coming or not... Or should I just leave you behind..."

"B-but... We need to go... A different way." Roy closed in more on the boy in a threatening way. "B-But-" Roy slammed his fist against the wall a second time, making Cecil flinch and shrink down even further.

Then seeing that the boy would not protest any more, Roy smiled triumphantly. "Good boy." He said as he turned to go back in the direction he was before. Reluctantly, Cecil followed.

"Grrraaaaah! How did we end up back here?!" Roy growled a while later when they walked back in the same toy room as before.

"I told you we were going the wrong way." Cecil said quietly, holding his left arm. He saw the look on Roy's face when they had re-entered the room and he remembered before when Roy actually looked scared. "Maybe there's something here we have to investigate in order to find the correct way." He suggested.

"There's no w-..." Roy was about to protest but then he realized that what was said very well may be true. "Fine." He grumbled, "Let's have a look around." Immediately he went to that bookshelf Cecil was looking at the first time they came into this room.

-He really doesn't want me looked at that, does he...- Cecil thought as he joined in the search on the other side of the room. There had to be some sort of switch or something they had to find in order to progress forward.

They searched for quite a while, tearing up the room. Finally Cecil decided to check under one of the beds. Tucked in one of the loose floor boards, there seemed to be a small sheet of paper. Questioningly, Cecil reached and pulled it out by the corner. It looked to be a newspaper clipping.

He checked once over at Roy to be sure he wasn't watching. Then back to the paper. _**'HUGE FIRE DESTROYS HOSPITAL' **_the headline read. The rest Cecil quickly skimmed just in case Roy were to catch him. _**'-some wounded, 13 found dead, countless gone missing assumed burned alive-' '-cause still unknown-' **_he skipped to a list of names _**'-Elizabeth Parr, Raye Penber, Gregory Smith, Suzana Charles, Nowaki Soula, Louis Armstrong, Taylor Mehns, Wallie Kurtz, Joey Wheeler, Clara Yule, Ella Guertena, Roy Guertena, Shirley- **_

-R-Roy and Ella G-Guertena?!- Cecil thought, with realization. -B-but if they're really dead then how...-

"HEY." A loud voice said from behind him and snatched the paper right out of his hands. He looked at the paper for only a moment before snappin his eyes back up at Cecil. "How much did you read?" He asked in a low tone.

"I-I-" Cecil didn't know what to think or say so he settled with, "-I'm sorry."

Immediately Roy's eyes flashed many emotions, fear, anguish, regret. But within the next instant they disappeared. Cecil stood up and faced him, but Roy turned in the other direction.

"S-so..." Cecil began to ask, "W-why are you here?" Roy did not reply. Cecil tried to reach out to him, but Roy moved away. Suddenly the older boy sat down on the ground with his knees to his chest and his face buried in them. Cecil joined by his side and asked, "Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?"

There was a long pause before Roy mumbled, "It was all my fault."

"Huh?"

"It was my fault they were there. My fault they were killed in the fire. If it wasn't for me... They wouldn't have died."

"How was it your fault?"

"Because!" Roy turned and faced Cecil. There were tears in his eyes threatening to spill over. Appearing angered by this, Roy fiercely wiped them away. "Because if I hadn't..." He looked back down at the ground, "If I hadn't of been so stupid and careless, then... Then they wouldn't of had to be there, NONE of them would of had been there!"

"I'm a little confused."

Roy sighed. "I… Was in the hospital… Because I got hurt… Even though I was told not to I… Went out late at night. Didn't really know where I was going, and got lost… Got beat up pretty bad… Could have, should have died then. But someone found me and brought me to the hospital. They were when the fire started… And we all died… Ella, me, and our baby sitter… Luckily Dad was… Busy or something or he would have died, too…"

"Your father, did he… Was he the one who painted all the paintings here?" Cecil asked. Roy nodded slightly. "Now, can I ask… If you died… How are you here?"

Roy was silent, again.

"Oh, uhm. Sorry. You really don't have to answer. I was just curious." Cecil continued to gaze at him worriedly. After a moment he stood uo and said," I'm… Going to keep looking…"

He knew Roy was hiding something more, but he also though it best not to pry too much into it. That would be rude after all. But it seemed kind of obvious that the older knew why he was there and Cecil thought that maybe it would help them find a way out. So the first place he went to check was that bookshelf.

He pulled out that photo book from before. He began to flip through it. Oddly, there wasn't anyone he recognized. Multiple times he saw the names Ella and Roy, but they weren't in any of the pictures.

Now even more confused than before, Cecil moved to the dairy portion in the back of the book. The paper was worn out and looked to be written by a young child with one of those fatter crayons. No dates came along with them.

'Today' he read, 'Daddy took me and big brother to the park! We had lots of fun playing on the swings but brother pushed me too high and I got scared and Daddy yelled at him.'

'I got to eat macaroons for the first time today! But they didnt taste like I thought they would. They look like little hamburgers but they taste sweet!'

'Mommy got sick again today. She has to stay the night at the hospital. Daddy says shell be back tomorrow though.'

'Mommy didnt come home today because she isnt better yet. I made her a picture but now I have to wait to give it to her tomorrow.'

'Now Daddy is saying Mommy might not be home for a while. He says we cant go see her because shes too sick and they dont want me and brother to catch her cold.'

'Its been almost two weeks now. Mommy still isnt coming home. When we talk about her, Daddy starts talking about something else. I dont understand. Maybe Mommy wants to surprise us when she comes home and itll be a party like a surprise party!'

'Tomorrow is my birthday. Grandma and Grandpa and Cousin Carl and Sylvia and Madison are going to be there and were going to eat cake and ice cream aand play games and have lots and lots of fun. I hope Mommy can come too.'

'Mommy couldnt come today.'

'Today Daddy told us that Mommy has only gotten worse and it might be a while before we can see her again.'

'We got to go to the hospital! But Mommy was asleep the whole time. There was a really loud beeping noise and I didnt like it. Daddy stood by Mommy and held her hand the whole time.'

As Cecil read through these he started to understand what was really going on with them. Then there was a long period between the last and the next, which filled him with sadness in just the first sentence.

'Mommy left us today. Daddy said they had to put her in a teleporter box and into the ground so she could go to this place called 'Heaven'. I dont know where that place is, but I hope Mommy has fun there but comes back soon. I didnt get to give her my picture before she left though.'

The next many were uneventful. It just talked about typical things a young child would do in their daily life. But then he came to

'Brother is an idiot. Carrie told him that he was grounded for being mean to me and that he couldnt leave if he knows whats good for him and he did it anyway. Now I am loosing sleep hours because Carrie isnt allowed to leave me home alone and has to take me with her to search for him. When we find him I am going to yell at him for this.'

'Now hes in the hospital. Brother got beat up really really badly and he had to be taken to the hospital. Daddy says hell be able to come home. Just like with Mommy.'

'All he does is sleep. Sleep sleep sleep sleep SLEEP. Its so boring! At least mommy opened her eyes sometimes.'

'Today Daddy asked me to draw some pictures of everyone. He started teaching me how to paint a while ago so I showed off a bit. I painted me and brother and Mommy and Daddy and our new baby sitter. Her name is Mary. I think Daddy is quite proud of my work! He congradulated me when I showed him and asked if he could keep them. I said it was okay but then I wished I had drawn us how we actually look because I know brother always talks about how he wishes he looked so I drew him like that and I want to be a ballerina when I get older so I drew me like that too. But I still told him it was okay as long as he took good care of them because I put a lot of love and time and effort into them.'

'Brother still hasn't opened his eyes yet. Not even once. I hope he doesn't turn out like Mommy.'

'Lately I haven't seen Daddy as much. Mary has to come over and watch me at least every other day. I don't know where he is going all the time, but for some reason it worries me.

'I think Daddy is going into denial. He doesn't want to believe that brother is in the hospital and isn't getting better. I don't either, but… I don' know… Because of his denial, we haven't seen brother in a while, too. I'm really starting to miss him. Even when he used to bully me.'

'All Dad does is paint now. He doesn't even come down to eat with us. Mary tried to talk to him but he just ignored her.'

'I snuck out to the hospital today. Mary got a little angry, but she understood why I did it. Dad didn't even notice. I tried to talk to brother, but he didn't even respond at all.'

'I went again today only with Mary. In one of the rooms we passed I heard someone crying really really loudly. It sounded like an older boy so I was curious and peeked my head in. I couldn't really see but I saw someone with a lot of bandages on and someone helse holding his hand and mumblling something to himself… I wanted to go in and talk to them, but Mary pulled me along.'

'Tomorrow Mary and I are finally going to go with Dad, if he can make it. I don't think he actually go, though. Oh well. As long as Mary will I don't care.'

And that was the final entry. He wasn't entirely sure, but Cecil pieced together that the next day was the day of the fire. It was also pretty obvious that the diary he was reading was infact Ella's diary. And if that was the case then Guertena was definitely her and Roy's father and those two died in the fire and since Guertena did not go, he survived.

Cecil looked up at the older teen who had moved next to him at some point but still had his head in his lap. "So…" He began to say something.

"… Now you know…" Roy muttered.

"I… Guess… But that doesn't really explain how the two of you are here. I don't get that."

Roy was silent for a moment. "I… Don't know either." Cecil nodded. Then Roy curled in more onto himself and his shoulders began to tremble, again as he muttered more words which Cecil could not make out.

"Hey, it's okay!" Cecil said, patting him on the back. When he saw that this did nothing but make Roy flinch away from his touch, the younger took the older by the shoulders and pulled him to his chest in a tight hug. "It's okay." He said in a comforting tone. "I know they didn't blame you. It's not your fault. It's whoever started the fire's fault. I'm sure they understand."

Cecil continued to hold Roy and pet his head, allowing the older boy by a chance to calm down. Finally, once his trembling had ceased, they pulled away from each other.

"Are you okay?" Cecil asked worriedly. Roy simply nodded, wiping some tears from his eyes.

"I think so…"

Cecil smiled and stood up. "Okay, then shall we keep looking? We still have to find a way out. Or at least back to the others."

"… … … Yeah…"  
**-  
A/N: Yep. That happened. Please read and review and tell me what you think! I like to smile sometimes.  
Also, we are actually nearing the end of this fanfiction! There should only be a few chapters left and then it will be done! Completely finished! Woo? **


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I hope the last chapter was better than I think it may have been for you all. But maybe this one will make up for it? It's a little short, but pretty darn important.**

**Chapter 13**

After the little 'bonding experience' the boys had, they continued their search. Cecil was doing most of the work, so it went by a little slower than it could have. But they did eventually stumble upon a small button and when they pressed it, the room shook.

Hoping that that meant something had opened up somewhere, Cecil took Roy by the hand ad led him back down the hallway. Sure enough, a new door had appeared. Even though it didn't really make sense, neither of them questioned it.

Inside was just another seemingly endless hallway. So many corners to turn and circles to go around. Cecil wished the room had no ceiling so that they could just climb on top of the walls and cheat their way to the exit.

"Hah." He heard Roy laugh next to him, "Who's the one getting us lost now?"

"Sh-sh-shut up!" Cecil blushed.

Suddenly, a loud noise was heard. The two froze in place and looked at each other. Cecil was panicking, but Roy smiled at him. It was somehow reassuring but sad at the same time.

But then the lights went out. They were completely covered in darkness.

"R-Roy?" Cecil called out fearfully.

"I'm right here, Cecil." Roy replied.

"I'm… Very scared right now…"

"You don't need to be. I'm right here, I'm not leaving you." Roy took Cecil and pulled him closer to his chest protectively. Cecil whimpered from surprise. Reaching with his right hand, Roy calmingly stroked Cecil's hair. "It's all right, everything is going to be okay."

"It's… Getting colder in here…" Cecil mumbled. Actually, the farther they went into this place, the worse he was feeling. It was painful.

Roy held him closer. "I know. I'm sorry."

Suddenly, Cecil felt a sharp pain in his chest. He yelled out and tried to move or do something to help the pain, but Roy only held him in place. It felt like something was tearing inside of him. And the pain was only getting worse.

"R-Roy, make it stop! Please!" He cried, thinking he couldn't take much more.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Roy repeated over and over again.

Cecil collapsed onto the ground, unable to hold his own weight and Roy went down with him. The older cradled the younger's head in his lap as he could feel his breathing starting to slow.

Cecil had stopped struggling. He couldn't anymore. He didn't really understand how or why, but he knew what was happening.

He was dying and it was coming fast.

Roy continued to whisper words off apology, but Cecil couldn't tell him it was okay or that it wasn't his fault. He felt really bad that he couldn't say anything that he wanted to. So Roy was just left there to apologize. He also felt bad, because in a few minutes, Roy would be left alone.

He knew his friends would miss him. He didn't want to make them feel such a terrible feeling. Hopefully they wouldn't blame Roy. It wasn't really his fault, and Cecil knew this. He just wished there was a way for him to say it.

The older finally stopped whispering and stood up. Maybe he still was, Cecil couldn't really tell. With all the warmth that had come from the older boy gone, Cecil suddenly felt colder than ever before. He wanted to call out for Roy to come back, he wasn't gone yet, but he could not. He wanted to get up and wrap his arms around himself, but he could not. He couldn't do anything at all. He could barely even think anymore.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, look what I learned how to do! (The line break above.) This is what happens when I actually write on fanfiction as opposed to in a word document. XD  
Oh yeah, the story! Excuse me while I go and give little Cecil a hug. ;^;  
Now, there should be only... two or three chapters left, really. So please! Tell me what you all think! Especially on this chapter, I would really appreciate what you all think of the events. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14  
-**

Earlier, the group of five traveled down a long hallway with nothing but blank walls and a few turns. It seemed like they were getting nowhere. Garry, being the oldest and only male of the group, felt obligated to lead them. Claire was close behind him, comparing how he walked to how she did. Ib and Layla walked silently next to each other. Ella was a little ways behind them, mumbling inaudible things under her breath, every once in a while receiving a glare from Layla because of it.

"Do you even know where we're going?" She finally complained so everyone could hear her. "It seems like we're going in circles."

"Well, no, I don't." Garry replied, continuing to walk, "But so far this has been the only way we can go." Ella then kept quiet.

They seemed to be walking for hours and hours, not finding much at all. They did find another room with a few paintings and bookshelves in which they stopped to take a few minutes for a break before moving on.

At one point they did cross a lady in blue, who actually landed a few scratched on Layla, Garry, and Claire, but not too much damage at all. She was pretty easy to run away from.

Shortly after, they were caught off guard when the ground started to shake and they all tumbled to the ground.

"Oooof. What was that?" Claire spoke, using the wall to get up. "An earthquake maybe?"

"I don't know, but it definitely wasn't good." Said Garry. He was able to get up on his own.

Ib and Layla managed to help each other up, but Ella seemed to be having some problems.

"Hey, are you okay?" Claire asked her.

"I-I'm fine." She replied, trying to use the wall to stand. But her right leg crumbled beneath her. Garry quickly went to her side and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Are you sure you're all right?" He asked, continuing to support her.

She glared up at him. "I'm fine." She said, pushing herself away from him. This made her stumble against the wall and slide back down to the ground.

Everyone looked at her oddly. After a silent moment, Garry knelt down next to her and placed his hand on her forehead.

"You don't feel too warm." He said. "Is it your foot that's bothering you?" He moved his attention to her foot, feeling and pressing in different locations, kind of giving her a massage. She continued to say nothing. After a moment, Garry smiled. "There." He said, standing up, "Does that feel any better?"

She wiggled her foot around before looking up at him and nodding.

"Good! Then here." He held out his hand to her and helped her to her feet, but she still stumbled a little bit so he put his arm around her to help her to walk.

(A/N: The scene below is basically the scene above re-written with Ella and Claire switching places, as you will see.)

Shortly after they were caught off guard when the ground started to shake and they tumbled to the ground.

"Oooof. What was that?" Claire was the first to speak.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I don't think it was good." Garry said, helping himself up.

Ib and Layla helped each other to their feet and Ella used the wall. Claire, on the other hand, seemed to be having some complications. She also tried to use the wall, but as soon as she put her weight onto her right foot, she collapsed to the ground and gasped in pain.

"Are you all right?" Garry asked, quickly kneeling down to her side.

"N-no." She mumbled, "M-my foot."

"Oh, your foot hurts? Here, let me help!" He went down and began pressing and feeling in different locations, giving her something of a massage. "There." He said when he was finished, "How's that? Any better?"

She wiggled her foot around. Then looked up at him, a smile on her face, and said, "Yeah, it feels a lot better! Thank you. I must have hurt it when I fell or something."

He smiled back at her and stood up. He held his hand out to her to help her up. At first she just stared at it, a slight blush appearing on her face. Then she shook her head and took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. But she stumbled again and began to fall to the ground Garry was fast and caught her under the arm.

"Still having a little trouble I take it? I'll help you walk."

"Thanks." She smiled.

The five continued walking, but at a slower pace so that Claire could keep up. They traveled in silence.

Finally, Garry began to speak and start a conversation. "So… Ib." He said. The girl looked up at him, showing that she had heard that he was speaking to her." About how long were we separated?"

Ib looked down at the ground. After a moment she replied, "A year."

Garry looked at her very surprised, "A-A year?!" He explained. She nodded, putting her head farther down. He took a second to think about it. Then he smiled and patted her on the head. "It's okay." He said, "I understand. Thank you. I'm sorry for making you worry about me."

She looked up at him, his hand still on her head. He smiled at her reassuringly and she smiled back.

They took maybe two steps more and then the lights went out.

* * *

**A/N: So we're really getting down there in the chapters, guys. Are you excited? I'm excited. I can't wait to see what you guys will think of the *cough* endings. ;) **

**Anyway, please leave a review! Haven't really heard from you guys in a while and the last chapter was kind of important, so… Please? **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: To the guest who somewhat recently reviewed on chapter 7- It would be pretty funny if I suddenly added PewDiePie into this fanfic. XD **

Chapter 15  
-

"I-Ib!" Layla exclaimed, grabbing for her friend's arm in the darkness.

Claire moved closer to Garry as if looking for protection. But he was also shaking with fear.

"I-It's okay, guys." He tried to comfort the group, but it kind of seemed like he was also trying to tell himself that.

That's when Ib remembered something. Quickly she dug into her pocket and pulled out the small silver item she had in her pocket and flipped it open, creating a small circle of light around the group.

"I-Ib! What d-did you…" Garry stumbled over his own words, "H-hey, isn't that my lighter?!" Ib simply nodded and continued to move forward. Garry sighed, not even bothering to ask her when she got it from him. It didn't really matter, since he didn't mind, considering… "Hey, why don't you let me take that so you don't burn yourself." He said, carefully taking the flame out of her hand.

The group then walked through the hall more cautiously, keeping all the way to the left side and staying closer together. When they reached a door, there was no hesitation to venture inside. Then they groaned once they saw that it seemed to be like another long hallway, but still went on forward that way.

There was something on the floor. Something that started to make Ib and Layla's heart sink. Fast they ran to it, leaving the rest of the group close behind, and picked it up.

They both gasped.

A black petal

Quickly they got up and ran onward, eyes scanning the ground to see if there were any more. Sure, enough, they found another. And another! Two more!

No. NO. NO! They couldn't believe it. They didn't want to believe it! There was no way! Their friend couldn't possibly be…

Surrounded by petals lay Cecil's unmoving body. They fell next to him and checked to see if maybe he was just sleeping. Though there was cuts scattered all over the visible skin, his face appeared peaceful enough to look like he was only sleeping. But still, he was not breathing and there was no pulse.

The rest of the group caught up, they gasped at the sight.

"Oh no! Is he okay?" Claire asked, covering her mouth. Ib and Layla did not reply.

"Hey!" Ella exclaimed, "Isn't that the boy who was with us earlier?"

"W-what?" Garry said, "I-Ib did you know him?"

Ib glanced up at Layla, who continued to stare downward. There were tears streaming down her face as she reached up and lightly caressed Cecil's right cheek.

Ib nodded, "Our best friend."

Garry looked surprised for a moment, then apologetically. "I-I'm so sorry." He said, a kind of awkward silence rising. The only sound coming from Ella as she tapped her foot. Claire and Garry went over and sat down, Claire next to Layla and Garry next to Ib.

The two girls looked down at their friend. How is it that he looked so beat up, yet so peaceful at the same time? It just didn't seem right to them.

"C-come here, Ib." Garry said, noticing the tears in her eyes and pulled her into his chest.

Layla's sobs became louder as she looked up and allowed the tears to fall even more. Claire wrapped her arms around the girl and let her cry into her shoulder. She could feel tears starting to fall down her own cheeks as well. Words of comfort escaped her lips as she patted the girl's back.

Then there was a groan. "Oh my god, seriously? Can we just go already? This is dumb and a waste of time." Ella practically growled, still tapping her foot impatiently.

*SMACK*

A loud echo rang thought the hallway. In an instant, Ella's cheek turned a nice red and she placed her hand over the damaged area.

"What is wrong with you?!" Claire exclaimed, her face showing nothing but rage. "Have you no heart?! That's their _**friend**_! Don't you feel bad at all?!"

The shocked expression on Ella's face disappeared and became more bored again and she sighed. "Not really."

"Grrr!" Claire growled, raising her hand again. But Garry had quickly gotten up and stopped her from striking again.

"I don't that is needed." He said, "It won't do any good, anyway."

Claire stared at him for a few moments and then sighed, pulling her hand away from him. "I guess you're right. She probably wouldn't listen, anyway."

Ella began walking away, whispering under her breath, "Whatever."

She was moving at a slow a slow pace, but still, the rest were a bit worried about her getting too far ahead of them.

"H-h-hey, I-Ib." Layla muttered, "D-do you think… I-if we f-find his r-ro-rose stem… C-c-could we help him l-like you d-did-d G-Garry?"

The girl considered it, glancing between her two friends. Then nodded. Seeing this immediately made Layla a little bit brighter, a ray of hope filling her eyes and a slight smile coming across her face.

"Well, come on, then!" She exclaimed, pulling both her and Ib to their feet. "We have to hurry up and save him!"

At that moment, they heard a relatively loud laugh come from the direction that Ella had gone. Quickly the rest of the group ran down that way to see what was up. They found her with her back facing away from them, looking down at something she was holding in her hands, shoulders still shaking with laughter. "It's just so funny, you see." She said, turning around. "You care so much, and yet… Nothing can be done… You're too late!"

"E-Ella?" Garry spoke, "What are you talking about? What do you have in your hand?!"

"Hee hee hee" She giggled, holding out her hand and letting the green object she was holding fall to the ground.

Layla gasped, grabbing for the item. "I-It's Cecil's-" She stopped once she got a better look at it, "-Cecil's… Stem…" The poor remains of the flower had looked crumpled and torn to shreds, barely holding itself together. There was no way it could recover from that.

Ella continued to giggle as Layla collapsed onto her knees, Ib falling next to her. She trembled, even more than before. "Th-there's still hope, right?" She turned to Ib, eyes wide and tears falling rapidly from them. She got louder, clutching Ib by her shoulders, "There's still hope, right, Ib?! We can still save him, right?! Ib, answer me, why aren't you answering?!"

Without any words, Ib wrapped her arms around her friend. "Please!" The girl cried, returning the comforting hug, "Please, PLEASE, I NEED TO KNOW HE WILL BE OKAY." She cried, her voice cracking multiple times.

"You guys!" Claire called, "We gotta go! Listen!" She pointed down the way that they had come. Noises of feet coming closer, getting louder and louder could be heard.

Ib went to get up and run away, but Layla held her down, still sobbing. "C-come on." Ib stuttered a little, trying to urge her friend to move, an still she would not.

"I don't believe we have time for this." Garry said, scooping up the sobbing girl who then leaned against his chest. "Come one!" He called to the rest of the group, taking the lead. And onward they ran.

It did not matter how fast they ran, whatever was following them sped up so that it could keep up with them.

Then, all of a sudden, they were covered in complete darkness. Garry's lighter had run out of fluid.

"Everyone!" Garry called through the dark, "Be careful and stay close togeth- waaah!"

The floor had suddenly disappeared from beneath their feet, causing them to fall, unknowing how far or long they would be.

* * *

With a groan, Ib slowly sat up, rubbing her throbbing head. She looked around at where she now was, immediately noticing two things.

One- the lights were back on.

Two- she was alone. Layla, Garry, everyone was gone and not even a mannequin or Lady in Red in sight.

In front of her were two doors. One was an nice dark blue color and the other an odd dark purple.

Slowly she got up, using the wall for support. The room around her spun, her head still pounding. She looked back up at the doors in front of her. Ib between the two, there seemed to be a piece of paper. Getting closer, she read the note, which was just about as cryptic as anything else in this place.

"As you can plainly see, here lie two doors." It read, "Two doors, two fates. When you cross through one frame your fate is chosen and there will be no turning back, no matter how much you may want to. The only way for you to tell is by knowing your colors."

This confused Ib. What could the note mean by "know your colors"? Surely one's fate could not be decided just by simply going through a door, could it? Well, one way to find out. And since there was also nowhere else to go, she had to go in one of the doors. But the question was WHICH ONE?

* * *

**A/N: So this is how this little experiment is going to work. When I post next there will be two chapters. You get to choose the door Ib has to enter! :D I will title the different chapters to what door she would be entering.  
This could go either very nicely or horribly wrong. Either way, I just thought it would be interesting to give it that multiple ending feel. Or to try to at least. XD (And I also couldn't really decide between the two endings, soooo…) **

**I'm not so sure I'm the best at writing how characters would react in situations like this. So if it seems wrong or a bit awkward, blame it on that. **

**But either way, please tell me what you think about the whole thing, okay? **


	16. The Purple Door

**The Purple Door  
-**

Slowly, Ib reached for the handle on the purple door to her right. She paused for a second, contemplating on whether or not she was making the right choice. But, with a feeling in her gut that this one was more wise, she stepped through with more confidence on her decision.

The door quickly slammed shut behind her. Texting the knob again, she found it was locked. There really was no way to go back on her decision. With a sigh she began moving forward. Of course she was in yet another uneventful hallway. Oddly, there seemed to be a lot those lately.

As she neared the door on the other end, she thought she heard voices coming from the other side.

"Hey… Are you sure you're all right?" One asked.

"… Yeah. I-I'm fine…" The other replied.

Was that… Garry? And Layla? Ib listened more, wanting to be sure. One of them was crying.

"C-come on, now." The slightly more man-like voice said, "I, uh… T-try not to think about it, okay?" Was he trying to comfort her? He wasn't doing a very good job at it.

"Not think about it?!" The other roared, "Haw am I supposed to not think about it?! He's DEAD… H-he's dead…"

"I-I'm sorry…"

"He's dead and now Ib is gone, too… I don't know what I would do if she got hurt, too… I'd probably just go ahead and kill myself…"

At that moment, hearing that confession, Ib burst through the door immediately going to Layla and pulling her into a tight hug.

"I-Ib!" The girl exclaimed, returning the hug.

The two smiled and laughed, happy they had each other. Garry had moved over to them and pulled them close. They stayed like that for a while and would have for longer, under different circumstances. But soon Garry had to pull them to their feet.

"We should get moving." He said. Ib an Layla continued to hold hands as they walked, Garry leading the way.

Eventually Ib asked, "What happened?"

"Hmmmm?" Garry thought, taking a moment to realize exactly what she was talking about, "Honestly. I'm not too sure." He pulled out his lighter, flipping it open. Surprisingly, the flame flickered o almost right away. "Th-that's weird… Then why did it go out before?" He thought about it for a seccond. "Aah, whatever. We don't have time to think about that. We've got to find Claire!"

Layla chuckled, "Oh, just Claire? Don't care about Ella?"

Garry blushed slightly at his mistake. "I-I mean, yeaH! We have to find C-Claire a-and Ella…!" Ib and Layla laughed at him acting all flustered.

Seeing Layla act like she was, Ib was surprised. Normally around unfamiliar people, Layla was quiet, and she still kind of was, even around people that she was used to, due to her anxieties revolving around her high pitched voice. So seeing her talking so much around Garry, well, it was spectacular. Not to mention what had happened not too long before. She seemed so happy and cheerful. Maybe she was distracting herself from the reality of the truth. Ib was trying to do that herself, but she just couldn't seem to get the image of Cecil's-

"You!" Layla suddenly shouted, interrupting Ib's train of thought. Looking ahead, they saw a figure in all black. "Roy! Get over here and explain yourself!" She shouted, causing the figure, who was supposedly Roy, to stop momentarily to look over his shoulder before turning back and running away. "Oh I don't think so." Layla said, running after him at full speed Garry and Ib soon following.

"N-No!" Roy exclaimed as they got closer and Ib noticed that his eyes were taken over with fear, "I-I, just leave me alone! P-please, just let me go! I have to go, Dad is waiting for us!" But it seemed too late to protest. The three already had him surrounded.

"You…" Layla repeated, her voice was lowering and becoming more threatening, "Why. No, HOW did it happen?! You were supposed to be with him! How could you let this happen?!" Roy did nothing but stare at her like a deer in headlights as she began to cry both from sadness and from anger. "Well? Answer me!" She took a few short steps closer to him.

Finally, he smiled, a laugh escaping his lips. "So you're blaming me?" His voice was so much different than it was just a few seconds before. Now he sounded calm. He put his hand behind his back and took a small step back, his head falling slightly so that only his mouth could be seen.

"W-what?" Layla stuttered, "N-No. Maybe. Huh?"

His grin widened. "Good, because you're absolutely right!"

The movement was fast. From behind his back Roy brought forth a seemingly sharpened palette knife. He lunged forward toward Ib. Ib didn't have time to think to dodge the attack and both Layla and Garry both moved to try and stop him. He thrust the knife upward… And into Layla's chest…

She gasped as he released the knife, allowing her to stumble backwards, being caught by the surprised Ib and Garry. Garry went to get back at the attacker, but the boy had already ran off.

"I'll go get him" Garry growled, standing up. He no sooner took two steps and Ib shot out her hand, grasping for the end of his coat and stopping him from going any further. He turned and looked at her, nodding with understanding.

"Ib…" Layla muttered painfully, coughing after.

"Yes?" Ib replied. Tears started to form in her eyes from hearing her friend sounding so weak. She looked down at Layla, who's head was now resting in her lap.

Layla reached up and rubbed away a falling tear on Ib's cheek. "Don't worry." She said, "Everything's going to be alright. I know it…" Ib's eyes wandered to the knife still sticking out. Blood was quickly gushing out from the wound, which looked to of hit at an awkward angle. What should she do? Should she take it out? Would that help or would it actually make it worse? Would it even matter anyway? "No, stay looking up here." Layla guided Ib's eyes back up to her face. She smiled, "See, I'm smiling. So it's okay." There was a pause. Layla's voice got slower and even more quiet. "Ib?... It's not… Your fault…" She said knowingly.

Slowly her eyes fluttered shut and her breathing completely ceased.

Ib wept.

-It's all my fault!- She thought, -If it were'nt for me, they wouldn't be even in this mess! They were brought here because of me and now they're both…-

"She looks peaceful." Garry said after a few minutes of silence. He had sat down next to Ib and out a comforting arm around her. She nodded, noticing that what he said was true.

It didn't make any sense! She had been attacked! How could she still look peaceful?! It was just like with Cecil…

Ib reached into Layla's pocked and pulled out Layla's purple rose. It had lost all its petals already. Where they had went, Ib was unsure. Along with it came the stem of Cecil's rose. She placed them both on Layla's chest, crossing them. She took Layla's hands and folded them together over the stems.

"A-are you sure you're okay?" Garry asked, noticing her eyes were read and puffy as he held a hand out to her and helped her to her feet. She leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked. He understood. They had to keep moving on, and that was the only reason she wasn't hunched over her friend, crying rivers of tears. All Garry could think about was back when he and Ib were together before. Ib thought that feeling around them was almost like after she had burned Mary's portrait. Only ten times worse.

They were not walking for too long when suddenly they heard a voice call form behind them. "Ib! Garry!" They turned and saw Claire running at them. "There you guys are. Hey, where's Layla? Was she with you?" Ib and Garry looked at each other and Ib hung her head. "N-no, you don't mean…"

Garry nodded. "What about Ella? Have you seen her?"

Now it was Claire's turn to hang her head. "She, uhm… We… Went into this room, and… I saw this picture of her, and… Of her and some boy… I-I was just curious a-and… She attacked me with my own knife, so… I had to do it!"

They did not have to ask. They knew what she had meant.

"So… Ella and that boy are… Just like Mary…" Garry said. He looked down at Ib. Ib knew that this would mean that Roy could enter the real world through the Fabricated World portrait.

They walked on, this new news weighing down the silence even more than before.

Finally they came to these huge double doors, which Ib recognized almost immediately. They were almost home. Garry pushed through the door with no hesitation. Then he gasped when he saw where they now were. "The exhibit."

Ib took him and Claire by the hand and lead them up the stair and into the corridor where the Fabricated World portrait was kept.

"Is this the way out?" Garry asked. Ib nodded yes.

"But… How?" Claire asked, stepping forward and reaching out to touch the painting, feeling the brush strokes.

Then the painting glowed for only two seconds. Claire, who was leaning slightly forward, started slipping into the painting and landed on the other side. She looked around a couple of times then turned to look over her shoulder at the other two with a smile. "I'm alright!" She said. "Look, I'm on the other side!" She stood up and twirled around in a circle happily. "Come on, you guys!"

Garry stepped forward, a genuine smile of relief appearing on his face. He easily climbed into the frame with Claire. Once over, he turned and knelt by the edge, "Come on, Ib! Here, take my hand and I'll help you over!" He reached his hand out to her.

She was about to take it when she heard someone else's voice. There was the sound of three pairs of feet coming her way.

"Ib? Where are you going? Why are you leaving us?" From the shadows stepped out Cecil, Layla, and… Garry? Ib stared at them, completely confused.

"Ib, come one! Come back with us!" That Garry said, smiling and holding out his hand.

Ib pulled her hand back to her side.

"Huh? Ib, what's wrong? It's all right, come on! I'll help you through." He said. She looked back at him and Claire. They now both had looks of worry on their faces.

"Ib? No, why do you want to leave? Don't you like us anymore? Aren't we friends?" Cecil said, Ib snapping her attention beck to them as they all took a few steps forward.

Quickly, she looked between the two groups, making a big decision. How could she choose?

**(A/N: Okay, so here I'm doing a thing, again… It splits again, only I guess I won't actually change it into a different chapter, because I think that is just too much work. XD . I'll just let you read both here.) **

She looked up at the Garry holding his hand out to her through the painting. Then took a step back and turned the other way.

"Wait, Ib, where are you going?!" She heard him call as she walked away from him. "Ib!"

She took the hand of the other Garry, receiving hugs from Layla and Cecil.

"Come on, Ib." The three said together, hauntingly. "Let's go. We can play together forever."

**END. **

**(A/N: See, really short. Anyway, now onto the other, and hopefully better one.) **

She looked up at the Garry holding his hand out to her through the painting. Taking one last glance at her other three friends, real or fake, she was unsure, beconing to her and took hold of the one in front of her.

Garry smiled and sighed, beginning to pull her through. When the three saw this, they all shouted her name and charged.

"Hurry!" She yelled, scrambling to get in.

As he foot slipped all the way inside, Ib, Garry, and Claire were engulfed in a warm, white light. -

Ib woke in front of the large painting. She could not remember what she was doing.

There was a loud buzzing sound. Someone over the intercom spoke, "All students here on their field trip, please return to the front desk at this time. Thank you for visiting!" That's right. A class trip. Taking one last glance at the overly large painting, Ib turned to head down the stairs and join her classmates, who all seemed to be waiting already.

The teacher gave her a disapproving look for being so late and began to take role. But something seemed a little off to Ib. Something was missing, but she could not put her finger on it. Eventually she just shrugged it off, blaming it on the fact that this museum was kind of an eerie place for her.

Suddenly she heard the sound of glass smashing, causing her and just about everyone else to jump and look in the direction of the sound. On the ground, face down, was a girl who looked to be about twice Ib's age. She had shoulder length brown hair and wore a school uniform. Next to her lay a pair of broken glasses, the cause of the sound. Also standing next to her was a plump old man whose face was red, most likely from anger. He wore a brown suit with a black and white striped tie.

The man bent over and picked up the frame of the broken spectacles. "Blasted woman." He growled, shoving them into his coat pocket.

"I-I'm awfully sorry, sir!" She apologized, picking up her head slightly. "I-I wasn't looking where I was going, a-and I tripped! I'm really very very sorry…"

"Whatever, just watch where you're going next time! Idiotic kids these days." He grumbled, stomping away from her.

After watching the man go, the girl tried to pick herself up off the ground, but she seemed to be having some complications. Ib was about to go and help her herself, but a tall man stepped in before her.

"Do you need some help there?" The man asked, quickly kneeling down to her side.

She looked up at him, a slight blush appearing on her face. She smiled, taking his hand and he pulled her to her feet. But as soon as she put pressure on her right foot, she fell into his arms, her face becoming a darker shade of red. "I-I'm sorry! She apologized."

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"N-no." She mumbled, "M-my foot. I-I think I…" Her eyes widened, looking as if she realized something, "-hurt my… Foot." Her smile got brighter as she seemed to of remembered something.

"W-what is it?" He stuttered, leading her over to the side and not out in the middle of the walkway.

"Don't you remember?" She said as he sat her down and began massaging her feet, which she seemed oddly okay with.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on, Garry!" She exclaimed. At the sound of the name, the man snapped his head up.

"Ib!" Ib heard her teacher finally call her name. Staying silent, she rose her hand in the air, then turned her attention back to the other two. They were… Hugging? Why were they hugging?

Suddenly the girls attention snapped up to Ib, who then felt embarrassed that she had been caught staring. The girl's face brightened and she pointed. "Ib!" The man, Garry?, followed the girl's finger. When he saw Ib, he smiled, motioning her over.

Ib knew that she wasn't supposed to talk to people she didn't know, but for some reason, she felt like she could trust these two. Like she really did know them. She took no more than two steps toward them before one of her fellow classmates took her by the hand and pulled her away and out the door.

Ib sighed as she was walking back to school with her class. Now her curiosity was running wild on why she seemed to recognize those two people or how the girl had known his name before he told her or Ib's name. She just could not piece it together, no matter how hard she thought about it.

When they had reached the school, Ib still had not come to any sort of conclusion. Eventially she decided to skip it and think about it later. It was about five minutes before the time they were to get out of school. While everyone was talking amongst themselves, Ib sat and stared out the window from her seat. Something she often seemed to be doing, not that she really minded. But for some reason, even that seemed odd to her today. Like something was still missing. Again, she had no idea what, as she did this most days before school actually ended. So again, she just shoved it off.

By the front of the school, she saw something poke around the corner. The sight of the boy made Ib smile. He has actually kept his promise to meet her after school. That was very rare for him.

As the bell rang, all the other kids scrambled to get out the door. Ib quickly gathered her things, putting her book that she needed for homework in her bag, along with her notebook, then went to exit the building.

Outside, there were kids running around to get past the gates. Ib walked slowly behind them all, not wanting to get caught up in any trouble one may start.

"Hey, Ib." The boy who was waiting smiled as she approached him. He wore the typical uniform for a high school student. A white dress shirt and a pair of dark orange shorts. The only difference was that he did not wear the required neck tie and had the shirt unbuttoned a few. His dark black hair blew in the wind, showing his full face, which normally covered one of his pretty green eyes.

"You didn't fight." Ib stated, referring to the fact that her friend was easily irritated, especially by those who were younger than him. But, for some reason, Ib was different.

"Nah. Not worth it. Not today at least." He ruffled her hair a little bit, starting to walk down the road.

She watched as he walked on without her. She wasn't sure why, but something about this just did not seem right. In fact, this felt completely wrong to her. Something really big was missing! She thought she would have to ask Roy about it. Maybe he would know.

"C'mon, shorty!" Roy called, using that nickname she didn't exactly approve of.

She sighed, beginning to follow him with a smile plastered on her face. For now, the questions would have to wait. She wanted to enjoy this moment while it lasted.

**END...**

* * *

**A/N: Well, here we are, friends. The last of my story. I'm glad you all stuck around till the end of this journey. I'm hope you all enjoyed this at least half as much as I did. Please, read and review, and if you'd like to an haven't already, read the other ending I have up! Love every one of you, and I'll maybe see you in whatever I write next! Bye~  
**


	17. The Blue Door

**The Blue Door  
-**

Slowly Ib reached for the knob on the blue door. She didn't exactly have great confidence about this decision, but she knew better than to second guess herself.

As soon as she stepped forward enough into the new corridor, the door behind her slammed shut all on its own. When she tested the handle, again, It was in fact locked. There really was no way to go back and change her mind.

With a sigh she began moving forward. Of course she seemed to be in yet another uneventful hallway. Oddly, there seemed to be a lot of those lately. As she neared the door on the other side, she began to hear some voices. One, which she easily identified as Ella, was apologizing multiple times, barely taking any breaths. The other was obviously Claire, with her undeniable English accent, who kept telling Ella that it was okay.

Quietly Ib pushed the door open, catching the attention of the other two. "Oh, hello, Ib!" Claire exclaimed, running over and hugging the girl. Ib hugged her back. "Is Garry and/or Layla with you?" Ib shook her head ne,

Looking around the room, it seemed all too familiar in all the wrong ways. The whole room was black with one half had drawn on orange roses and the other side of the room had drawn on white roses. Across the floor lay a bunch of children's books. On the far wall looked to be two pictures, but Ib could not make them out from where she was standing. Ella sat on the ground, staring at her hands in her lap.

Claire left Ib's side, starting to wander around the room. She picked up a few books, flipping through them. There was a smile on her face and curiosity glowing in her eyes. Along with a hint of excitement.

Trying to stay unnoticed, Ella got up and moved over to the two pictures. She went up to the one on the orange rose side of the room. Touching the painting she hung her head. But when the painting started to glow, Claire's full attention was caught. And just as the glow had come, it faded, but something looked different. After the glow was gone, the picture was left completely white.

Ella's face lit up like it never had before and she giggled, whispering something to herself.

"Whoa! That's so weird!" Claire exclaimed, getting a closer look at the blank frame. "I wonder if this one will do it, too!" She moved to the one on the other side.

Immediately Ella's face changed. "Don't touch that." She growled. Claire did not seem to notice. "I said don't!" Ella unexpectedly lunged at Claire, tackling her to the ground.

Claire looked up at Ella with wide eyes. Ib knew what those eyes meant. Evidently Ella did, too. Claire's intelligent mind had realized and figured out something. And considering Ella's reaction, maybe it was not something she was supposed to know.

The older tried to shove Ella off, but she was not strong enough. Ella reached up and snaked her fingers around Claire's thin, scrawny neck. She gasped for breath, grasping at the hands which only held on tighter.

Thinking quickly, Ib ran up, grabbing Ella by the shoulders and yankning back as hard as she could. Surprised by this, forgetting that Ib was even there, Ella's grip on Claire loosened and she was thrown back.

Ib helped Claire up. The older dug in her pockets for something. "Ib, look out!" She exclaimed, shoving Ib out of the way and thrusting her arm forward and causing Ib to tumble to the ground, closing her eyes.

There was a loud shriek, followed by a thud. Ib looked up and what she saw very likely had the potential to make her lose her lunch, had she of eaten anything before. Ella had turned around and currently had something shiny and silver sticking right into her left eye. Her mouth was gaped open like she was just in awe. Claire… Was lying on the ground, a large scratch going across her cheek. Ib crawled over to her as she sat up, touching where she had been hurt. Then her attention whipped back up to Ella with trembling eyes.

The girl started laughing, startling Claire an Ib. Quickly, she spun around to face them. Grabbing the object in her eye, she pulled it out as if it were a slicer in her finger. Twirling the one inch blade in her fingers she grinned, taking a step toward the two.

Ib wasn't sure what to do. She was only ten! She didn't know how to play wrestle, let alone actually fight, and against someone with a weapon no less!

Ella took another step forward, getting ready to pounce.

Before anything could be done, Claire quickly pushed Ib away with everything she could muster, sending IB rolling across the floor. Just in time for Ella to attack.

As fast as possible, Ib got up, gathering herself together. She ran over to Ella, who was back on top of Claire, laughing maniacally and shoved her off.

But she was too late. All of Claire's torso was cut open and bleeding badly onto the carpet. Her breathing was already visibly starting to slow.

"I-Ib…" Claire muttered. "Run!"

"B-but-"

"JUST. GO."

Ib stared at her for half a second before nodding, then running off. She could hear Ella still laughing behind her.

She felt extremely terrible about leaving Claire like that, but… If she didn't, she very likely would die, also, along with Claire.

No, it wasn't right to think like that! Claire would be okay! This was all just a dream! Both Claire and Cecil were okay and Ella wasn't crazy and they would all get out just fine together and move on… Right?

Cecil… Remembering the state they had found him in… And then Claire, too… No, no more! Ib couldn't take this! First she had to leave Garry here before, and Mary, and now all of this?! There was just no way…

Ib felt tears begin to fall, again as she ran. She ran and ran, not even really looking where she was going. That is, until she ran into something. Or, rather, someone, both of them falling to the ground.

"Ib!" Layla exclaimed, throwing her arms around her friend. There was an obvious sadness and fear in her voice. Ib returned the hug. "I-is Claire with you? Or Ella?" The two pulled apart.

Ib looked at the ground. "I… Was… But Ella attacked…" Layla looked shocked, but she understood what Ib was trying to explain, noting the tone in Ib's voice. "Garry?" Ib asked, hopefully.

Now it was Layla's turn to hand her head. Immediately Ib's heart clenched with despair and disbelief. "H-he…" Layla began, "He protected me… From Roy… But I… I couldn't do anything! There was so much blood, a-and…" She began to shake.

Ignoring her own terrible thoughts, Ib went to comfort her friend, wrapping her arms around her. They cried together.

"We… Have to go…" Ib said, trying to get her to move on. "Ella will be coming." She explained when her friend looked at her oddly. They two leaned against each other as they continued to walk, leaving them to their own thoughts in silence. Not one of those thoughts being good.

They eventually came to these two huge doors. Ib recognized them immediately. There were almost back home. To safety. Without hesitation, she threw the doors open, pulling a confused Layla along behind her. The sooner they got through to the other side, the better.

Up the stairs and down the corridor, they went to where the Fabricated World portrait was held. Ib took one glance at Layla before reaching out and touching the painting. It glowed for two short seconds, the frame practically evaporating. When it finished, Ib smiled, climbing inside. But… When she turned back around to help her friend climb in, she knew something was wrong.

Layla stared down in the direction that they had come from. Stepping out from the shadow, Ib saw was… Cecil? But how was Cecil there?! And the oddest thing about it was that… Cecil looked perfectly fine. No cuts visible on him at all!

He smiled at Layla, opening his arms to her. She stared back at him with wide eyes, keeping er hands close to her chest. But then she cracked a smile and a slight giggle, which turned into laughter.

"Layla?" Ib called to her, worried. Her laugh ceased.

"Come on, Layla!" Cecil said, taking a step closer to her, arms still outstretched. "Give me a hug, won't you? Come with me. You and I can be together forever now!"

"D-don't listen!" Ib tried to convince her, "That's not really him!" But Layla didn't even acknowledge that Ib had said anything at all.

Cecil put his arms down. "Oh, I'm hurt, Ib. How could you say that about me?" There wasn't much emotion in his voice.

Layla turned and glared at Ib. "Not the real Cecil?! Why do you say that? Who are you to judge whether he is real or not, huh?!" She took a step away from the painting.

"Just trust me!" Ib exclaimed frantically, but she could see the doubt in Layla's eyes.

The glare hardened. "And how do I know YOU'RE not the fake, huh? Huh, Ib?!" Ib was silent. She couldn't think of anything convincing enough to say. "That's what I thought." Layla turned and started walking away.

"Wait!" Ib stopped her. "You… Loved Cecil…"

Layla stopped just a few feet away from the accused fake Cecil, who had a hand stretched out to her. She hung her head. "No…" She mumbled, barely audible to Ib, "I still love him." And with that she took the hand of the accused fake. The two walked off together and Ib could see the genuinely happy smile on Layla's face.

Just as they were getting out of sight, Cecil looked over his shoulder as Ib and gave her this… Evil smile.

Before Ib could move, she was engulfed in a warm, white light.  
-

Ib woke in front of the large painting. She could not remember what she was doing.

There was a loud buzzing sound. Someone over the intercom spoke, "All students here on their field trip, please return to the front desk at this time. Thank you for visiting!" That's right. A class trip. Taking one last glance at the overly large painting, Ib turned to head down the stairs and join her classmates, who all seemed to be waiting already.

The teacher gave her a disapproving look for being so late and began to take role. But something seemed a little off to Ib. Something was missing, but she could not put her finger on it.

That's when she heard a familiar voice calling, "Ib!"

Ib turned and saw her friend running towards her. Her long blonde hair flew wildly behind her, showing off the bandage over her left eye. "Ella." Ib said when they were finally next to each other.

"I know, I know, I shouldn't run, but I'm just do excited and happy! This was a lot of fun! I'm so glad I was able to come along, today! But sure I had to do a lot to get the teachers to agree, and I don't like working, but it's okay, because this was totally worth it! I just wish you and I would have stayed together the whole time!" She laughed and Ib smiled with an agreeing nod.

Since Ella was older, she wasn't supposed to go on this trip, but somehow she persuaded he school to let her as long as she did her homework and did a little extra work outside of school.

"Ib!" She heard the teacher call her name. Staying silent, Ib rose her hand in the air. "Ella!"

"I'm here!" Ella replied, loud and happily. "So, Ib. Which painting was your favorite? I really like the one with the sleeping guy, or maybe the one with the fancy lady with the pink rose. Oh, but the rose sculpture was pretty neat, too! But I also liked the one with the two walking away from each other. You know, the one where the boy is walking to a guillotine? Man, there are just so many to choose from, I can't decide!" Ella wiggled around from her own indecisiveness. "Ib, answer my question!" She exclaimed. Thinking for a few seconds, Ib shrugged. She hadn't really given much thought as to which one was her favorite piece. "Oh, the class is leaving!" Ella grabbed Ib's hand and pulled her along behind her.

"Ib, Ella!" The teacher called again. "It seems that someone is here to pick you up, so go on ahead, I guess. Oh, and don't worry, Ella. I'll inform your teacher that your father came here and got you early."

Confused, Ib and Ella moved to the front of the group, who were all had their attention directed toward them now. Just as the teacher said, there at the side of the road sat the car that Ella's Dad always drove. In the front seat was a man, presumably her Dad, wearing his favorite hat. But it covered most of his face for some reason. Usually he hated when he saw people wear their hats like that.

The two climbed into the back seat and buckled themselves in. The car started up and they began to move as they continued to sit with a weird silence rising. Something else that was rather unusual, as Ella's Dad was generally a pretty lively fellow, especially when something artistic was involved, and they were just at an art museum, after all.

"Uhm…" Ella began to speak after a few awkward minutes. "Hey, Dad. Are you okay?"

"Dad?" The man said, the car swerved a little bit as he threw his head back, a loud laughter erupting from him, "When did I ever say I was Dad?" With one hand staying on the wheel he reached up and took off the hat, revealing who he really was underneath.

"Big brother!" Ella exclaimed with a happy giggle.

"I did say that I was going to be getting you today, didn't I?" The boy shook his head slightly, trying to fix his long black hair. "We're just lucky that Dad was home so I could, uh… Borrow his stuff."

"That's great, but… What do we do if we get caught?"

"We won't."

"But what if we do?"

"Then I'm jumping out and getting away and leaving you two to take the blame for me. Obviously." He put the hat back on.

Ella laughed again. "Yeah, but them you would probably get lost and all beaten up, again! Stupid brother."

Roy's grip on the wheel visibly tightened so much that his knuckles turned white and Ib, who was sitting in the seat behind him, could hear him grind his teeth together. "No…" He said in a low tone. "I wouldn't you or myself through that ever again." He paused, looking in the rear view mirror and seeing the look of worry and confusion on Ib's face. "Damnit, Ella! I told you not to mention that in front of Ib, okay! Please, don't…"

Ella frowned and shrunk back into her seat. "Okay… I'm sorry, Roy…"

Roy sighed and shook his head. But then unexpectedly laughed. "I'm only kidding, shorty! After all… It's not like we would have to hide anything from our best friend, right? Best friends don't keep secrets from each other." He looked into the mirror at them, again. "Right, guys?"

Ella looked over at Ib, an odd smile appearing on her face. "Right."

**END... **

* * *

**A/N: Well, here we are, friends. The last of my story. I'm glad you all stuck around till the end of this journey. I'm hope you all enjoyed this at least half as much as I did. Please, read and review, and if you'd like to an haven't already, read the other ending I have up! Love every one of you, and I'll maybe see you in whatever I write next! Bye~**


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